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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bound — certain
  3. wax — to grow
  4. chip — for betting
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. club — for golf
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. club — a group
  13. game — a match
  14. bound — tied together
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. club — for dancing
  17. chip — to eat
  18. game — wild animals
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bound — obliged
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. chest — a box

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