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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. cap — a lid
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wind — moving air
  8. date — the fruit
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. chest — a box
  14. cap — of ice
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cap — a hat
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. wind — moving air
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. hide — animal skin

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