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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. track — a song
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. tear — from crying
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. tear — from crying
  7. track — a path
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. tube — the underground
  13. band — a music group
  14. capital — a city
  15. game — a match
  16. tear — to rip
  17. track — to keep track
  18. game — wild animals
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — a container
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. band — a ring

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