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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — a stone
  4. craft — boats
  5. chair — a leader
  6. rock — music
  7. wax — to grow
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. ground — crushed
  14. land — a country
  15. chest — a box
  16. craft — a skill
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. ground — a position
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. land — to come down
  21. ground — the earth
  22. kid — to tease
  23. land — ground
  24. chair — to sit on

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