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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. rush — hurry
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cell — in biology
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. stock — goods
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. craft — a skill
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. stock — shares
  14. field — farmland
  15. chest — of your body
  16. field — for sport
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. field — a subject
  19. chest — of your body
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cell — a phone
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. craft — boats
  24. cell — in a prison

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