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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. chest — a box
  5. court — of a king
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. stock — shares
  8. mate — to breed
  9. cap — of ice
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. stock — goods
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cap — a lid
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. court — for sport
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cap — a hat
  21. wake — a trail
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. court — of law
  24. mate — a friend

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