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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. root — the cause
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. chest — of your body
  9. spell — a short time
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. spell — letters
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. object — a thing
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — to protest
  17. spell — magic
  18. root — of a plant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bat — the animal
  21. root — of a word
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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