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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. net — in sport
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. mug — a face
  7. rule — a law
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — of the year
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. season — in sport
  13. mug — a cup
  14. mug — to rob
  15. hand — help
  16. net — after costs
  17. tube — the underground
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. net — for catching
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. chest — a box
  24. rule — government

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