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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. field — farmland
  3. chest — a box
  4. perch — the fish
  5. cue — a signal
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. squash — the sport
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. squash — to crush
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. hand — in cards
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. hand — help
  17. snap — to click
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. field — for sport
  20. cue — for pool
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. field — a subject
  24. cue — a hint

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