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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. land — to come down
  3. fall — the season
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. stock — goods
  6. bass — the fish
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. chest — a box
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. land — ground
  14. bass — low music
  15. kick — in football
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. stock — shares
  22. land — a country
  23. fall — to drop
  24. kick — a thrill

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