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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. charge — a price
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. chest — a box
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. clip — a video
  7. charge — electricity
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. plane — a tool
  15. clip — to cut
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. cold — an illness
  19. charge — in control
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chair — a leader
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. clip — for paper

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