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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. root — the cause
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. chest — of your body
  7. march — music
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. press — a publisher
  13. scale — size or range
  14. land — a country
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. root — of a word
  18. chest — a box
  19. press — to push
  20. press — newspapers
  21. scale — in music
  22. perch — the fish
  23. root — of a plant
  24. perch — for a bird

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