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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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. chest — a box
  4. spell — magic
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. root — of a word
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. root — of a plant
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bat — the animal
  13. spell — a short time
  14. lie — to recline
  15. date — the fruit
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. chest — of your body
  18. root — the cause
  19. spell — letters
  20. capital — money
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. capital — a city
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. lie — an untruth

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