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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — to be able to
  4. fall — to drop
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — magic
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — government
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. chest — of your body
  11. key — the most important part
  12. squash — to crush
  13. key — in music
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rule — a law
  16. fall — the season
  17. spell — a short time
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. squash — the sport
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. can — a tin
  22. chest — a box
  23. chair — a leader
  24. key — for a lock

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