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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rest — a break
  6. row — a line
  7. lean — thin
  8. chest — a box
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wound — an injury
  11. row — to paddle
  12. lean — to bend
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. rest — what's left
  17. perch — the fish
  18. chip — to eat
  19. net — after costs
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rest — what's left
  22. chip — for betting
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. perch — for a bird

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