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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. spell — magic
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. staff — employees
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. staff — a stick
  10. staff — employees
  11. chest — a box
  12. spell — letters
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. capital — money
  16. mine — for digging
  17. chest — of your body
  18. spell — a short time

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