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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. rock — music
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. tear — to rip
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. file — a tool
  9. tear — from crying
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. rock — a stone
  13. file — a line of people
  14. chest — of your body
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. file — a document
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. snap — to click
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wax — to grow
  22. tear — from crying
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. chest — a box

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