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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. tear — to rip
  3. chest — a box
  4. present — the time now
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. spell — a short time
  7. tear — from crying
  8. present — a gift
  9. track — to keep track
  10. chest — of your body
  11. spell — letters
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. present — there
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. spell — magic
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. kid — child
  24. ruler — a monarch

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