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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. rash — hasty
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. can — a tin
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. drill — army training
  11. can — a tin
  12. present — the time now
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. rash — a series
  15. wound — an injury
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. drill — the tool
  18. present — there
  19. branch — a division
  20. present — a gift
  21. chest — a box
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. drill — a practice

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