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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kid — to tease
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. sharp — clever
  10. chair — a leader
  11. prune — to trim
  12. chest — a box
  13. kid — child
  14. pop — music
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pop — to visit
  17. foot — a measure
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. chest — of your body
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. pop — soda
  24. chair — to sit on

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