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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. last — final
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. root — of a word
  7. mate — a partner
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. root — of a plant
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. chest — of your body
  13. scale — size or range
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. scale — in music
  16. mate — a friend
  17. last — to go on
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. wind — moving air
  20. last — finally
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. mate — to breed
  23. root — the cause
  24. court — for sport

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