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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. chest — a box
  4. bound — certain
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mate — a partner
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. fall — to drop
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. field — a subject
  12. bound — obliged
  13. mate — to breed
  14. chest — of your body
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. mate — a friend
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. field — for sport
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bound — tied together
  21. prune — to trim
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. field — farmland
  24. fall — the season

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