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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. snap — to click
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rush — hurry
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — music
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. land — ground
  10. swing — in golf
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. rash — hasty
  13. land — to come down
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. track — a path
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rash — a series
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a song
  20. land — a country
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. chest — a box

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