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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. chest — a box
  6. tear — to rip
  7. craft — boats
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. mine — for digging
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. cold — not warm
  13. snap — to click
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. chest — of your body
  17. key — the most important part
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. craft — a skill
  20. cold — an illness
  21. key — for a lock
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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