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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. field — a subject
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. field — farmland
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. mate — a partner
  15. foot — a measure
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child
  19. mate — to breed
  20. chest — a box
  21. rush — hurry
  22. field — for sport
  23. mate — a friend
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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