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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to sink
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. object — a thing
  13. pit — a hole
  14. stem — to come from
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. object — an aim
  19. object — to protest
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. dip — to dunk

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