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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bank — of a river
  4. chest — a box
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. scale — in music
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. march — the month
  10. chest — of your body
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. march — the month
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — for money
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. march — music

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