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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. craft — boats
  4. rash — hasty
  5. chair — a leader
  6. row — to paddle
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. foot — a measure
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bear — the animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. craft — a skill
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. chest — a box
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bear — the animal
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. rash — a series
  22. row — a line
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bark — to shout

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