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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. spring — a coil
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. court — for sport
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stock — shares
  8. plane — a tool
  9. spring — of water
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. court — of a king
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. saw — the tool
  18. stock — goods
  19. court — of law
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. spring — the season
  22. chest — a box
  23. spell — magic
  24. saw — the tool

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