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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. hand — help
  6. chest — a box
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cue — a hint
  11. row — a line
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — a phone
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cap — a lid
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. cue — for pool
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cue — a signal
  24. row — to paddle

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