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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. key — in music
  4. band — a music group
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. mine — for digging
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — to be able to
  18. key — the most important part
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. can — a tin
  21. key — for a lock
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. trunk — of a tree

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