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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mate — a partner
  3. stock — goods
  4. mate — a friend
  5. staff — employees
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stock — shares
  8. staff — a stick
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mate — to breed
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. march — the month
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. staff — employees
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — a signal
  18. spring — the season
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. march — the month
  21. chest — a box
  22. march — music
  23. cue — for pool
  24. chest — of your body

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