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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. chest — of your body
  4. field — a subject
  5. pop — to visit
  6. present — a gift
  7. chest — of your body
  8. field — farmland
  9. can — a tin
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. chest — a box
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — music
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. squash — to crush
  18. present — the time now
  19. chip — for betting
  20. present — there
  21. can — a tin
  22. field — for sport
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. squash — the sport

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