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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cap — of ice
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bore — to tire
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bore — to drill
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. chest — of your body
  12. charge — in control
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. charge — a price
  15. cap — a lid
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. charge — electricity
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. chest — a box
  23. cap — a hat
  24. chair — a leader

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