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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. last — final
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — in sport
  7. last — finally
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. plane — a tool
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. chest — a box
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. pound — a weight
  15. last — to go on
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. net — for catching
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. plane — in geometry

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