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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. last — to go on
  4. craft — a skill
  5. chest — a box
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. last — finally
  8. cold — not warm
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. fine — all right
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. fine — high quality
  16. last — final
  17. craft — boats
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — an illness

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