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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. land — a country
  4. chest — a box
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bound — tied together
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wound — an injury
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. land — ground
  11. bound — obliged
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pop — music
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pop — soda
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pop — to visit
  19. land — to come down
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. kid — child
  22. bound — certain
  23. prune — to trim
  24. patient — a sick person

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