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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 120 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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. bear — the animal
  3. rest — what's left
  4. pound — a weight
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. rest — a break
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. mark — a grade
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. kid — child
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bear — the animal
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. swing — to play on
  22. rest — what's left
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mark — a trace

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