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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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468
Word bank
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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. tear — from crying
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. capital — a city
  6. tear — to rip
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cue — a hint
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. file — a document
  14. chest — a box
  15. ground — the earth
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. cue — for pool
  19. ground — a position
  20. cue — a signal
  21. chest — of your body
  22. ground — crushed
  23. capital — money
  24. arm — a part of something

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