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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. kid — child
  3. tear — from crying
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tear — to rip
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. kid — to tease
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chest — a box
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. cap — of ice
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cap — a lid
  20. foot — a measure
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cap — a hat
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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