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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. season — in sport
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. chest — a box
  5. bass — the fish
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. season — of the year
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wind — moving air
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. bass — low music
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. toast — bread
  24. wind — to turn a key

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