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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. chest — a box
  8. scale — size or range
  9. mark — a trace
  10. bass — the fish
  11. board — to get on
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. board — a committee
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. lie — to recline
  21. mark — a grade
  22. chest — of your body
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bass — low music

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