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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mine — for digging
  4. scale — in music
  5. pit — a hole
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. scale — size or range
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pit — in a race
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. craft — a skill
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. craft — boats
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — to dunk

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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