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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. chest — of your body
  3. field — farmland
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. cap — a lid
  7. chest — of your body
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. kick — in football
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. hand — in cards
  14. club — a group
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. club — for golf
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. cap — a hat
  21. hand — help
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. club — for dancing
  24. chest — a box

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