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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bear — the animal
  3. band — a music group
  4. mark — a trace
  5. ball — a dance
  6. band — a ring
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. chest — a box
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. game — a match
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a great time
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mark — a grade
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bear — the animal
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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