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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. file — a tool
  5. ground — a position
  6. rock — music
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. ground — crushed
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. chest — a box
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rock — a stone
  19. chest — of your body
  20. file — a document
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. ground — the earth
  23. can — a tin
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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