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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. march — music
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. track — a path
  8. chest — of your body
  9. track — a song
  10. board — to get on
  11. chest — a box
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. ground — crushed
  14. track — to keep track
  15. row — to paddle
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. board — a committee
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. row — a line
  22. last — to go on
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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