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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cell — a phone
  3. scale — size or range
  4. last — finally
  5. chest — of your body
  6. last — final
  7. staff — a stick
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. kick — in football
  10. swing — music
  11. cell — in biology
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kid — child
  14. swing — to play on
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. chest — a box
  17. staff — employees
  18. swing — in golf
  19. scale — in music
  20. last — to go on
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. staff — employees
  23. kid — to tease
  24. scale — for weighing

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