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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. row — a line
  4. capital — a city
  5. row — to paddle
  6. swing — in golf
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rest — what's left
  9. capital — money
  10. fall — to drop
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fall — to drop
  13. swing — music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. swing — to play on
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. fall — the season
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. branch — a division
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. rest — what's left
  23. chest — a box
  24. rest — a break

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