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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. row — a line
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kick — in football
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. band — a music group
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chest — of your body
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. row — to paddle
  20. chest — a box
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. chair — a leader
  24. band — a ring

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