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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. bound — obliged
  3. cell — a phone
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spring — the season
  7. chest — of your body
  8. kick — in football
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. spring — of water
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bound — certain
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bound — tied together
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. craft — a skill
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. craft — boats
  23. cell — in biology
  24. spring — a coil

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