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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. roll — a list
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rest — what's left
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bark — to shout
  9. rest — what's left
  10. roll — a cake
  11. tube — the underground
  12. game — a match
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. tube — a container
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. wind — moving air
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pass — a permit
  20. chest — a box
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. rest — a break
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wind — moving air

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