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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. file — a line of people
  3. chest — a box
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. kid — child
  6. file — a tool
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. kid — to tease
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. ground — the earth
  13. chest — of your body
  14. ground — a position
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. rash — hasty
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. rash — a series
  24. file — a document

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