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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. hand — help
  7. net — after costs
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. shower — to wash
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bore — to drill
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. shower — rain
  15. bore — to tire
  16. chest — of your body
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bass — the fish
  20. chest — a box
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bass — low music
  24. stem — a stem cell

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