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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. field — for sport
  3. march — music
  4. chest — a box
  5. craft — a skill
  6. deal — to handle
  7. craft — boats
  8. field — farmland
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. rest — what's left
  11. spell — letters
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chair — a leader
  14. spell — a short time
  15. rest — a break
  16. field — a subject
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. spell — magic
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. chest — of your body

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