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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 laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. last — to go on
  5. capital — money
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. capital — a city
  8. field — a subject
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. last — finally
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. last — final
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. field — farmland
  21. bark — to shout
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. field — for sport

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