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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cap — a lid
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. mark — a grade
  5. chest — of your body
  6. object — an aim
  7. drill — army training
  8. chest — a box
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. object — to protest
  11. mark — a trace
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. drill — the tool
  17. cap — of ice
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. object — a thing
  22. cap — a hat
  23. drill — a practice
  24. trunk — of a car

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