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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. rest — what's left
  8. field — farmland
  9. rest — a break
  10. track — a song
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cell — in biology
  14. field — for sport
  15. bass — low music
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. track — to keep track
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. track — a path
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. chest — a box
  24. field — a subject

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