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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. field — farmland
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cap — of ice
  6. charge — a price
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. field — for sport
  10. charge — in control
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. cap — a lid
  13. craft — boats
  14. net — for catching
  15. charge — electricity
  16. face — to confront
  17. craft — a skill
  18. net — after costs
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pop — music
  21. field — a subject
  22. chest — a box
  23. net — in sport
  24. pop — soda

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