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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. rest — what's left
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rest — a break
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tear — to rip
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bore — to tire
  11. cue — a signal
  12. chest — a box
  13. rash — hasty
  14. kick — in football
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. tear — from crying
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to drill
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cue — for pool
  22. rash — a series
  23. cue — a hint
  24. rest — what's left

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