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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. charge — electricity
  3. saw — the tool
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. chest — a box
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. mine — for digging
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bat — the animal
  12. hand — in cards
  13. charge — in control
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — to be able to
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. hand — help
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. can — a tin
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. chest — of your body
  23. ground — a position
  24. charge — a price

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