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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mate — a partner
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. drill — army training
  7. fall — to drop
  8. drill — the tool
  9. mate — a friend
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. file — a document
  13. rash — hasty
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. fall — to drop
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. file — a tool
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. drill — a practice
  20. mate — to breed
  21. fall — the season
  22. rash — a series
  23. cold — not warm
  24. file — a line of people

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