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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bass — low music
  3. suit — in cards
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. suit — clothes
  6. roll — a cake
  7. suit — to fit
  8. bass — the fish
  9. perch — the fish
  10. chest — of your body
  11. date — the fruit
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chest — a box
  15. roll — a list
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. tear — to rip
  24. racket — for tennis

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