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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. chest — a box
  4. craft — a skill
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — a weight
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stem — to come from
  11. rest — a break
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. chest — of your body
  18. band — a music group
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. chest — of your body
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. rest — what's left
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

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