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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pit — a hole
  5. mate — to breed
  6. ground — crushed
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. spring — the season
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. ground — a position
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pit — in a race
  17. spring — a coil
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. mate — a partner
  22. spring — of water
  23. mate — a friend
  24. plane — a tool

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