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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. band — a music group
  8. ground — a position
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stand — to bear
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pass — a permit
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ground — crushed
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. cold — the Cold War

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