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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. foot — a measure
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. row — a line
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. chest — a box
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. scale — in music
  14. firm — decided
  15. chip — to eat
  16. firm — steady
  17. scale — size or range
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — farmland
  22. firm — a company
  23. row — to paddle
  24. chip — for betting

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