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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. ball — a dance
  3. track — a path
  4. track — to keep track
  5. field — for sport
  6. chest — a box
  7. track — a song
  8. cue — a hint
  9. mug — a face
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cue — a signal
  12. press — to push
  13. cue — for pool
  14. ball — a great time
  15. field — farmland
  16. mug — a cup
  17. field — a subject
  18. mug — to rob
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. root — the cause
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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