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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: pop · fall · chest · rest · ball · bear · trunk · file

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bear — the animal
  3. pop — music
  4. chest — of your body
  5. ball — a great time
  6. fall — the season
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. pop — soda
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. chest — a box
  14. rest — a break
  15. file — a line of people
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bear — the animal
  18. fall — to drop
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pop — to visit
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. fall — to drop

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