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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. present — there
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cue — a hint
  6. chest — of your body
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. chest — a box
  10. swing — to play on
  11. perch — the fish
  12. swing — in golf
  13. present — a gift
  14. land — a country
  15. cue — for pool
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. cue — a signal
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. present — the time now
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. swing — music

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