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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. clip — for paper
  3. chip — for betting
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. drill — the tool
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. toast — bread
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — in cards
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. drill — army training
  17. clip — a video
  18. chest — a box
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. sharp — clever
  22. chip — to eat
  23. drill — a practice
  24. clip — to cut

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