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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fall — the season
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. prune — to trim
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. march — music
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. rash — a series
  15. fall — to drop
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a dance
  21. chest — a box
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — hasty
  24. fall — to drop

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