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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — a series
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. spell — letters
  11. chest — a box
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. tear — to rip
  15. spell — magic
  16. wake — a trail
  17. spell — a short time
  18. tear — from crying
  19. chest — of your body
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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