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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rock — music
  5. spring — the season
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. chest — of your body
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. mark — a trace
  15. spring — of water
  16. tube — a container
  17. mark — a grade
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. chest — a box
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. rock — a stone
  22. tube — the underground
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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