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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. track — to keep track
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. net — in sport
  7. track — a song
  8. net — for catching
  9. track — a path
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. net — after costs
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. squash — to crush
  15. chest — a box
  16. band — a music group
  17. file — a document
  18. band — a ring
  19. file — a tool
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. squash — the sport
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. file — a line of people

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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