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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pop — music
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. chest — of your body
  8. kid — to tease
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pop — to visit
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. capital — money
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pop — soda
  16. sharp — clever
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. kid — child
  19. chest — a box
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. capital — a city
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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