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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. chest — a box
  4. craft — a skill
  5. chair — a leader
  6. spell — magic
  7. wind — moving air
  8. field — farmland
  9. chest — of your body
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. spell — letters
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wind — moving air
  15. craft — boats
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. chair — to sit on

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