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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. staff — employees
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. chest — a box
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wind — moving air
  11. dip — to sink
  12. mine — for digging
  13. staff — employees
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. staff — a stick
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. fall — to drop

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