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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. chest — a box
  3. rock — a stone
  4. pop — soda
  5. mate — a partner
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. field — farmland
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. chest — of your body
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. field — a subject
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. chest — of your body
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. field — for sport
  20. mate — to breed
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. sharp — clever
  24. mate — a friend

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