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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 124 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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. charge — in control
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. charge — a price
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. capital — a city
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. chest — a box
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. field — for sport
  13. root — of a word
  14. stock — shares
  15. capital — money
  16. field — farmland
  17. chest — of your body
  18. charge — electricity
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. root — the cause
  22. field — a subject
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. stock — goods

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