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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bank — for money
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. rest — a break
  6. land — a country
  7. rest — what's left
  8. chest — a box
  9. bank — for money
  10. stem — to come from
  11. pound — a weight
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. land — to come down
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bank — of a river
  21. file — a line of people
  22. land — ground
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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