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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. chest — a box
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bark — to shout
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. chip — to eat
  15. scale — in music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. plane — a tool
  20. chip — for betting
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. scale — size or range

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