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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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 — a box
  2. pit — in a race
  3. mug — a face
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mug — to rob
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — boats
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. mug — a cup
  12. march — the month
  13. field — farmland
  14. chest — of your body
  15. march — the month
  16. pit — a hole
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. field — for sport
  20. march — music
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. degree — temperature
  23. field — a subject
  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