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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rush — hurry
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. scale — in music
  12. chest — a box
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. chest — of your body

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