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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cell — a phone
  6. fall — the season
  7. stock — shares
  8. vault — a safe
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. fall — to drop
  11. net — in sport
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. stock — goods
  14. cell — in biology
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. fall — to drop
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. chest — a box
  23. rush — hurry
  24. trunk — of a tree

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