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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. swing — music
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chest — of your body
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. chest — a box
  10. roll — a cake
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. chair — a leader
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. foot — a measure
  16. craft — a skill
  17. swing — in golf
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. craft — boats
  20. roll — a list
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. swing — to play on
  24. foot — part of the body

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