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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. press — a publisher
  3. kid — child
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bound — certain
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. roll — a cake
  11. bound — tied together
  12. kid — to tease
  13. press — newspapers
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. roll — a list
  16. ball — a dance
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. press — to push
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ball — a great time
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bound — obliged
  23. chest — a box
  24. lie — an untruth

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