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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. chest — of your body
  3. swing — to play on
  4. track — a song
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — music
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cell — a phone
  9. track — a path
  10. drill — a practice
  11. file — a document
  12. drill — the tool
  13. spring — of water
  14. chest — of your body
  15. snap — to click
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. chest — a box
  19. file — a tool
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. track — to keep track
  23. drill — army training
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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