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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cold — not warm
  4. dip — to sink
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. last — to go on
  8. bore — to drill
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. last — finally
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. chest — a box
  13. last — final
  14. mine — for digging
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bore — to tire
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. wave — of the sea

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