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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bear — the animal
  3. ball — a dance
  4. kid — to tease
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. kid — child
  8. band — a ring
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. band — a music group
  11. chest — a box
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. chest — of your body
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. pound — a weight
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. ball — a great time
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. bear — the animal
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com