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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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chest — of your body
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — the most important part
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. chest — a box
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. key — in music
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bark — to shout
  22. chest — of your body
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. safe — a strongbox

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