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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. chest — of your body
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. chest — a box
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. drill — army training
  13. pitch — completely
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — part of the head
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rock — a stone
  22. face — to confront
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wound — an injury

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