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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 120 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bound — obliged
  5. hand — help
  6. shower — to wash
  7. hand — in cards
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bound — certain
  11. ground — the earth
  12. shower — rain
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bound — tied together
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. ground — a position
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. ground — crushed
  23. chest — a box
  24. branch — a division

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