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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's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cell — a phone
  3. chest — of your body
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wound — an injury
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. chest — of your body
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. plane — a tool
  22. cell — in biology
  23. kick — in football
  24. chest — a box

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