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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. rush — hurry
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. chest — of your body
  8. date — the fruit
  9. fall — the season
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. scale — in music
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. chest — a box
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. kick — in football
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. mug — to rob
  23. scale — size or range
  24. mug — a cup

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