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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mate — a partner
  4. staff — employees
  5. charge — electricity
  6. clip — for paper
  7. charge — in control
  8. chest — a box
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mate — a friend
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. staff — a stick
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. hand — in cards
  16. staff — employees
  17. clip — a video
  18. chest — of your body
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mate — to breed
  21. hand — help
  22. charge — a price
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pitcher — a jug

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