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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bulb — for light
  3. club — for dancing
  4. chest — a box
  5. shower — to wash
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. net — in sport
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — rain
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. root — of a plant
  12. net — for catching
  13. root — of a word
  14. snap — to click
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wound — an injury
  17. club — a group
  18. net — after costs
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. club — for golf
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. wound — an injury

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