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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. chest — of your body
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. band — a music group
  15. snap — to click
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. chest — a box
  20. shower — rain
  21. band — a ring
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. bore — to tire
  24. rash — hasty

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