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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bound — certain
  3. rest — what's left
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — employees
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. rest — what's left
  8. shower — to wash
  9. present — the time now
  10. bound — tied together
  11. file — a document
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. rest — a break
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. staff — a stick
  17. present — there
  18. file — a line of people
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. present — a gift
  22. bound — obliged
  23. shower — rain
  24. file — a tool

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