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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. staff — employees
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — the sport
  7. staff — employees
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spring — a coil
  11. squash — to crush
  12. current — happening now
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. wound — an injury
  15. current — of water
  16. staff — a stick
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. spring — of water
  20. current — electric
  21. pound — a weight
  22. wound — an injury
  23. clip — a video
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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