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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 120 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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. foot — a measure
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. row — a line
  7. mate — a partner
  8. last — to go on
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. cell — a phone
  11. mate — a friend
  12. last — final
  13. mate — to breed
  14. last — finally
  15. cell — in biology
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. row — to paddle
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to sink
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. foot — the bottom

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