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

Word bank: chest · mouse · game · rest · last · kid · stick · sharp

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. game — wild animals
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. rest — what's left
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. game — a match
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. chest — a box
  14. last — finally
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. sharp — clever
  17. last — final
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. last — to go on
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. chest — of your 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