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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 120 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stock — goods
  5. chest — a box
  6. stock — shares
  7. field — farmland
  8. cue — a hint
  9. key — for a lock
  10. cue — for pool
  11. key — in music
  12. cue — a signal
  13. key — the most important part
  14. wound — an injury
  15. field — for sport
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. field — a subject
  18. wound — an injury

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