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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: foot · season · chest · ground · hide · arm · tear · rash

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chest — of your body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. ground — crushed
  5. tear — to rip
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rash — hasty
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. season — in sport
  10. chest — of your body
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. foot — a measure
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. season — of the year
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rash — a series
  21. ground — a position
  22. chest — a box
  23. ground — the earth
  24. arm — part of the body

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