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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rash — a series
  4. kid — child
  5. swing — music
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bear — the animal
  8. swing — in golf
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ground — crushed
  11. swing — to play on
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. tube — the underground
  15. chest — a box
  16. rash — hasty
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bear — the animal
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. tube — a container
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. ground — a position
  24. tube — in a tire

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