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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. chest — of your body
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. rash — a series
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. chest — a box
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cell — in biology
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — obliged
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bound — certain
  19. chest — of your body
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rash — hasty
  23. saw — the tool
  24. dip — to sink

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