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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. staff — employees
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. staff — a stick
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. ground — crushed
  8. staff — employees
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. bat — the animal
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. ground — the earth
  13. cold — an illness
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. vault — a safe
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. ground — a position

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