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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. foot — a measure
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. spell — magic
  8. game — wild animals
  9. kick — in football
  10. band — a ring
  11. present — there
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — a gift
  15. chest — a box
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. spell — a short time
  20. game — a match
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. spell — letters

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