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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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. shower — rain
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. chest — a box
  6. key — for a lock
  7. club — for golf
  8. shower — to wash
  9. club — a group
  10. field — farmland
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. club — for dancing
  13. field — for sport
  14. key — the most important part
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. file — a document
  17. field — a subject
  18. file — a tool
  19. key — in music
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. chest — of your body
  22. current — electric
  23. current — happening now
  24. file — a line of people

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