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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — to breed
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. spring — of water
  8. field — a subject
  9. bass — low music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. spring — the season
  12. field — for sport
  13. chest — a box
  14. court — for sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. fine — all right
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bass — the fish
  19. fine — high quality
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — music
  24. mate — a partner

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