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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bulb — for light
  4. season — in sport
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. kick — in football
  8. season — of the year
  9. chest — a box
  10. ball — a great time
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. ball — a dance
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. shower — rain
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. plane — a tool
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bulb — for light

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