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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. row — a line
  3. squash — to crush
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. object — a thing
  10. rest — what's left
  11. ball — a dance
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. ball — a great time
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. object — to protest
  20. squash — the sport
  21. row — to paddle
  22. object — an aim
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. rest — a break

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