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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 120 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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. present — a gift
  6. mine — for digging
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. present — there
  9. march — the month
  10. chest — a box
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cue — for pool
  13. scale — size or range
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. march — music
  16. cue — a signal
  17. present — the time now
  18. scale — in music
  19. cue — a hint
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. chest — of your body
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. march — the month

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