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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 120 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. current — electric
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bat — the animal
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. current — of water
  13. foot — a measure
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. current — happening now
  16. chest — a box
  17. can — a tin
  18. can — a tin
  19. mine — for digging
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. rush — hurry
  22. can — to be able to
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — a garden tool

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