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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. field — farmland
  3. firm — a company
  4. bat — the animal
  5. firm — steady
  6. firm — decided
  7. club — a group
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. pound — a weight
  10. field — for sport
  11. court — for sport
  12. club — for golf
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. court — of a king
  15. chest — a box
  16. court — of law
  17. field — a subject
  18. scale — in music
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. scale — size or range
  21. club — for dancing
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pound — for dogs
  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