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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mug — a face
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. mug — a cup
  7. vault — a safe
  8. shower — to wash
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. file — a tool
  13. snap — to click
  14. mate — a partner
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. chest — a box
  17. shower — rain
  18. mug — to rob
  19. file — a document
  20. mate — a friend
  21. chest — of your body
  22. file — a line of people
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. mate — to breed

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