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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. chest — of your body
  4. band — a ring
  5. object — a thing
  6. key — the most important part
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to click
  9. key — in music
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. object — to protest
  12. chest — of your body
  13. object — an aim
  14. field — for sport
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. band — a music group
  19. key — for a lock
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. band — a rubber band

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