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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cap — a lid
  3. chest — a box
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cap — of ice
  7. spring — of water
  8. chest — of your body
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. shower — rain
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. club — for golf
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. spring — the season
  16. club — a group
  17. spring — a coil
  18. club — for dancing
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. ball — a great time
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cap — a hat
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a round shape

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