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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. ground — a position
  5. chest — of your body
  6. charge — electricity
  7. key — the most important part
  8. charge — a price
  9. board — to get on
  10. key — in music
  11. charge — in control
  12. board — a committee
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bear — the animal
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. clip — for paper
  19. ground — the earth
  20. clip — a video
  21. key — for a lock
  22. bear — the animal
  23. chest — a box
  24. bore — to tire

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