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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. file — a line of people
  5. spell — letters
  6. field — farmland
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. spell — a short time
  9. file — a tool
  10. field — for sport
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to bend
  13. chest — a box
  14. cap — a lid
  15. spell — magic
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cap — of ice
  18. current — of water
  19. current — happening now
  20. chest — of your body
  21. field — a subject
  22. file — a document
  23. current — electric
  24. cap — a hat

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