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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. band — a ring
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. squash — to crush
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. chest — a box
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cell — in biology
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. band — a music group
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cell — a phone

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