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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. club — for golf
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. chest — a box
  6. mine — for digging
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. ball — a great time
  12. stand — to bear
  13. band — a music group
  14. perch — the fish
  15. club — for dancing
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. ball — a dance
  18. band — a ring
  19. club — a group
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stem — to come from
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. stem — a stem cell

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