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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rest — a break
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bulb — for light
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rest — what's left
  7. clip — a video
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rash — hasty
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. spell — magic
  14. rash — a series
  15. chest — a box
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bulb — for light
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rest — what's left
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. tear — to rip
  24. spell — letters

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