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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. rash — hasty
  4. chest — a box
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. foot — a measure
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — to wash
  11. perch — the fish
  12. cold — not warm
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. cold — an illness
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bulb — for light
  20. rash — a series
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. bulb — for light
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bulb — of a plant

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