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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stem — to come from
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bear — the animal
  6. last — finally
  7. capital — a city
  8. bound — certain
  9. last — to go on
  10. field — for sport
  11. rest — a break
  12. field — farmland
  13. capital — money
  14. field — a subject
  15. last — final
  16. chest — a box
  17. bear — the animal
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — obliged
  24. chest — of your body

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