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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. file — a tool
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. season — in sport
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. mark — a trace
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. season — of the year
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mark — a grade
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pit — a hole
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. file — a document
  22. chest — a box
  23. bark — to shout
  24. chest — of your body

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