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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  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. row — a quarrel
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. field — a subject
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. capital — money
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. field — for sport
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. capital — a city
  15. pit — in a race
  16. row — a line
  17. wax — to grow
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. chest — of your body
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — a group
  22. field — farmland
  23. club — for dancing
  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