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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. spring — of water
  4. track — to keep track
  5. chip — for betting
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. spring — a coil
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. track — a path
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. game — wild animals
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. spring — the season
  18. game — a match
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — to eat
  21. track — a song
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. game — a kind of play

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