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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. chest — of your body
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — the time now
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. land — a country
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. band — a ring
  13. foot — a measure
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — in football
  19. band — a music group
  20. lie — to recline
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. present — there
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. land — to come down

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