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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. ground — a position
  4. suit — to fit
  5. pit — a hole
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. suit — clothes
  8. spring — of water
  9. chest — a box
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spring — the season
  17. ground — the earth
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. spring — a coil
  20. dip — to sink
  21. pit — in a race
  22. suit — in cards
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ground — crushed

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