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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cell — in biology
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. rest — what's left
  12. chest — of your body
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. rest — a break
  15. clip — a video
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. clip — for paper
  18. date — the fruit
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cell — a phone
  23. chest — a box
  24. hide — to keep secret

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