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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. current — of water
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. branch — a division
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — electric
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pitch — completely
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. sharp — with an edge

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