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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. ground — the earth
  4. spring — the season
  5. fine — high quality
  6. ground — crushed
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cap — a lid
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cap — of ice
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cap — a hat
  13. ground — a position
  14. mine — for digging
  15. fine — all right
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. spring — of water
  18. mine — belonging to me

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