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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bound — tied together
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. chest — a box
  10. bound — certain
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cell — in biology
  14. sharp — clever
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. bulb — for light
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bound — obliged
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cell — a phone
  22. chip — for betting
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. prune — to trim

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