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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. present — the time now
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. present — a gift
  5. chest — a box
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stock — goods
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — shares
  12. field — a subject
  13. present — there
  14. suit — to fit
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. suit — in cards
  19. field — farmland
  20. suit — clothes
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. field — for sport
  23. wake — a trail
  24. game — wild animals

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