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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. cue — a signal
  8. row — to paddle
  9. land — ground
  10. cue — a hint
  11. vault — a safe
  12. cue — for pool
  13. chest — a box
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chest — of your body
  19. row — a line
  20. land — to come down
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. land — a country
  24. straw — a straw man

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