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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. sharp — clever
  5. saw — the tool
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. chest — a box
  9. pound — a weight
  10. object — a thing
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. kid — to tease
  14. object — to protest
  15. saw — the tool
  16. object — an aim
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. kid — child

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