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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. clip — to cut
  4. craft — boats
  5. last — to go on
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. board — a committee
  9. rock — a stone
  10. pit — in a race
  11. last — final
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. last — finally
  16. rock — music
  17. craft — a skill
  18. stock — goods
  19. pit — a hole
  20. board — to get on
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. stock — shares
  24. chest — of your body

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