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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rest — a break
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. spell — a short time
  7. perch — the fish
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — to visit
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pop — music
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. cell — a phone
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. spell — letters
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. spell — magic
  22. pound — a weight
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pound — to hit hard

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