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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. land — ground
  5. chest — of your body
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. land — a country
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cap — a hat
  18. land — to come down
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. chest — a box
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. mark — a grade
  23. cell — in biology
  24. mark — a trace

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