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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. chest — of your body
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. cap — of ice
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. chest — of your body
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cap — a hat
  16. row — a line
  17. lie — to recline
  18. chest — a box
  19. kick — in football
  20. cap — a lid
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pound — a weight

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