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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. chest — of your body
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. chest — a box
  8. bound — tied together
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bound — obliged
  11. rule — government
  12. bound — certain
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. rule — a law
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. date — the fruit
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. spell — magic
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. chest — of your body

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