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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pit — a hole
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rule — a law
  6. shower — to wash
  7. tear — from crying
  8. drill — army training
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. chest — a box
  13. content — the amount
  14. ball — a great time
  15. tear — to rip
  16. drill — a practice
  17. chest — of your body
  18. content — happy
  19. pit — in a race
  20. shower — rain
  21. rule — government
  22. ball — a dance
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. drill — the 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