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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stem — to come from
  3. ball — a great time
  4. capital — money
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. mug — a cup
  7. bass — low music
  8. chest — a box
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wax — to grow
  13. capital — a city
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. mug — a face
  21. ball — a dance
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. mug — to rob
  24. bass — the fish

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