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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. staff — a stick
  3. ball — a dance
  4. field — for sport
  5. staff — employees
  6. capital — a city
  7. club — for dancing
  8. field — a subject
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. plane — a tool
  11. rash — hasty
  12. staff — employees
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rash — a series
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. ball — a great time
  19. club — a group
  20. chest — of your body
  21. club — for golf
  22. field — farmland
  23. capital — money
  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