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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chest — of your body
  5. field — farmland
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. club — for golf
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. club — a group
  11. scale — size or range
  12. rash — hasty
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. toast — bread
  15. scale — in music
  16. field — for sport
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. chest — a box
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — a series
  23. club — for dancing
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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