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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. squash — to crush
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. mug — to rob
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. chest — a box
  8. roll — a cake
  9. chest — of your body
  10. kid — child
  11. squash — the sport
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. roll — a list
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. mug — a cup
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. mug — a face
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. kid — to tease

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