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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 124 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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. march — music
  3. present — a gift
  4. field — farmland
  5. chair — a leader
  6. suit — clothes
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. field — for sport
  9. present — there
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. march — the month
  14. chest — of your body
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. suit — to fit
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. march — the month
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. chest — a box
  21. suit — in cards
  22. field — a subject
  23. kick — in football
  24. present — the time now

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