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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. land — to come down
  3. chest — a box
  4. ground — a position
  5. swing — to play on
  6. stem — to come from
  7. ground — crushed
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pop — soda
  11. ground — the earth
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. pop — music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. pop — to visit
  17. land — a country
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. swing — in golf
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. date — the fruit
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. swing — music
  24. land — ground

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