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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. object — a thing
  5. chest — of your body
  6. kid — child
  7. chest — of your body
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. pitch — completely
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. chest — a box
  16. object — to protest
  17. mate — to breed
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. mate — a friend
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. mate — a partner

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