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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. craft — boats
  3. chest — of your body
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. object — an aim
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. object — to protest
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. craft — a skill
  14. dip — to sink
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bat — the animal
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. chest — a box
  21. saw — the tool
  22. object — a thing
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. mine — an explosive

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