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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chest — a box
  4. field — a subject
  5. firm — decided
  6. field — for sport
  7. craft — a skill
  8. hand — help
  9. cap — a hat
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. last — to go on
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. last — finally
  14. craft — boats
  15. field — farmland
  16. hand — in cards
  17. firm — steady
  18. cap — of ice
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cap — a lid
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chest — of your body
  23. firm — a company
  24. last — final

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