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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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. court — of a king
  4. bass — the fish
  5. file — a line of people
  6. clip — for paper
  7. court — of law
  8. march — music
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stand — to bear
  11. clip — a video
  12. file — a document
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. march — the month
  16. cap — a lid
  17. file — a tool
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. bass — low music
  21. court — for sport
  22. march — the month
  23. cap — of ice
  24. stand — for spectators

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