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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. branch — a division
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. net — in sport
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. spring — the season
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bat — the animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. net — for catching
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. net — after costs
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. calf — of the leg

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