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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. last — to go on
  3. firm — a company
  4. field — farmland
  5. pass — a permit
  6. present — the time now
  7. last — finally
  8. firm — decided
  9. firm — steady
  10. chest — a box
  11. present — there
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. field — for sport
  14. bass — the fish
  15. row — a line
  16. field — a subject
  17. present — a gift
  18. bass — low music
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. last — final

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