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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: tear · trunk · spring · kid · safe · rash · chest · firm

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. firm — decided
  3. spring — of water
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. chest — a box
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. spring — the season
  9. tear — from crying
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. spring — a coil
  12. kid — to tease
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — hasty
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. firm — steady
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. kid — child
  23. firm — a company
  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