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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. scale — in music
  3. band — a music group
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. perch — the fish
  13. can — a tin
  14. scale — size or range
  15. march — the month
  16. chest — a box
  17. foot — a measure
  18. band — a ring
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. band — a rubber band

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