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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chest — a box
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. chest — of your body
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. squash — to crush
  18. track — a path
  19. deal — to handle
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — to come from
  24. spring — a coil

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