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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. march — the month
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. chip — to eat
  5. spell — a short time
  6. chip — for betting
  7. march — the month
  8. stand — to bear
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. spell — letters
  11. march — music
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. capital — money
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. shower — to wash
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. spell — magic
  20. chest — a box
  21. capital — a city
  22. chest — of your body
  23. shower — rain
  24. wave — with your hand

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