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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cold — not warm
  3. band — a ring
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rush — hurry
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. wound — an injury
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. mark — a grade
  17. band — a music group
  18. chest — a box
  19. mark — a trace
  20. wound — an injury
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. toast — bread
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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