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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  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. chest — a box
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cap — a lid
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. rock — music
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. spring — the season
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. field — a subject
  13. rule — government
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. spring — of water
  17. wax — to grow
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cap — of ice
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. cap — a hat
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. rule — a law
  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