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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. row — to paddle
  3. scale — in music
  4. chest — a box
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. row — a line
  8. present — there
  9. scale — size or range
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. chest — of your body
  12. present — the time now
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pit — a hole
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. present — a gift
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. wound — an injury
  24. sharp — clever

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