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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — in music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. ground — the earth
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. tube — the underground
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. scale — size or range
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. chest — a box
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. ground — crushed
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. cold — not warm
  23. tube — a container
  24. ground — a position

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