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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. capital — money
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pop — music
  5. capital — a city
  6. chest — a box
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. pop — to visit
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. stem — to come from
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pop — soda
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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