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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. cell — a phone
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bear — the animal
  6. ground — a position
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cell — in biology
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. key — for a lock
  13. chest — a box
  14. band — a music group
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. band — a ring
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. key — in music
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bear — the animal
  22. ground — the earth
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. key — the most important part

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