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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. fine — high quality
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cell — a phone
  10. scale — size or range
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fine — all right
  13. prune — to trim
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. scale — in music
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — a trail

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