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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 120 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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. 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. ground — a position
  3. present — a gift
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. chest — of your body
  6. present — the time now
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — crushed
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. present — there
  17. chest — a box
  18. march — music
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. chair — a leader
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. 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