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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. spell — letters
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chest — a box
  6. bass — low music
  7. chip — for betting
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. spell — a short time
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bass — the fish
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. press — a publisher
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pound — a weight
  21. press — to push
  22. chest — of your body
  23. kick — in football
  24. spell — magic

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