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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. prune — to trim
  4. capital — money
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mug — a face
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. prune — to trim
  10. capital — a city
  11. bass — low music
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bass — the fish
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. mug — to rob
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. chest — of your body
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mug — a cup
  24. chest — a box

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