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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. firm — steady
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. march — the month
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. chest — a box
  8. march — the month
  9. pit — in a race
  10. current — electric
  11. squash — the sport
  12. march — music
  13. current — happening now
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. cold — an illness
  17. board — to get on
  18. cold — not warm
  19. chest — of your body
  20. firm — a company
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. current — of water
  23. firm — decided
  24. squash — to crush

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