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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. arm — a part of something
  3. chest — of your body
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. field — for sport
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. bat — the animal
  13. row — a line
  14. field — farmland
  15. rule — a law
  16. craft — boats
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. craft — a skill
  19. field — a subject
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. rule — government
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. row — to paddle
  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