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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. net — for catching
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. ground — crushed
  7. net — after costs
  8. bank — of a river
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wind — moving air
  11. net — in sport
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. bank — for money
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. ground — a position
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. rest — what's left
  19. chest — a box
  20. rest — a break
  21. bank — for money
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. stem — to come from

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