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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rash — hasty
  6. degree — from a university
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. degree — an amount
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. degree — temperature
  16. press — a publisher
  17. snap — to click
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. press — to push
  21. rash — a series
  22. press — newspapers
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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