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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bound — obliged
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bat — the animal
  8. stand — to bear
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. ball — a great time
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bound — certain
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bat — for baseball

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