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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. game — wild animals
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. cell — a phone
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pitch — completely
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. chest — of your body
  16. game — a match
  17. fall — the season
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. pit — a hole
  20. fall — to drop
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. chest — a box

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