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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. rest — a break
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rest — what's left
  5. chest — of your body
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. suit — to fit
  8. bound — obliged
  9. kid — to tease
  10. suit — clothes
  11. kid — child
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — certain
  16. clip — a video
  17. rest — what's left
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. ground — the earth
  21. chest — a box
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. ground — a position

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