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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. court — of law
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. chest — of your body
  7. key — in music
  8. key — the most important part
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. chest — a box
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wake — a trail
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. cell — in biology
  16. court — for sport
  17. saw — the tool
  18. shower — rain
  19. key — for a lock
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. court — of a king
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. shower — to wash
  24. deal — to handle

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