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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 120 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 King held a masked ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. ball — a dance
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — a division
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — music
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. rule — government
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. swing — to play on
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. ball — a great time
  24. fan — a supporter

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