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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 120 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mine — for digging
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. swing — music
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. swing — in golf
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. stand — to bear
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. foot — a measure
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. rash — a series
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. swing — to play on
  23. chest — a box
  24. rash — hasty

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