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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. craft — boats
  7. swing — to play on
  8. plane — a tool
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chair — a leader
  11. mate — a friend
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. mate — to breed
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. swing — music
  22. craft — a skill
  23. chest — a box
  24. bat — the animal

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