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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — a measure
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. land — ground
  9. tube — a container
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. land — to come down
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bat — the animal
  17. squash — to crush
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — a position
  21. rest — what's left
  22. chest — of your body
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. land — a country

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