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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. saw — the tool
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. court — of law
  8. track — to keep track
  9. chest — a box
  10. saw — the tool
  11. field — farmland
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. court — for sport
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. track — a path
  18. court — of a king
  19. track — a song
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. chair — a leader
  24. wound — an injury

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