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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. net — for catching
  4. file — a document
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. fall — to drop
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. craft — boats
  11. file — a line of people
  12. board — to get on
  13. net — in sport
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. file — a tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. board — a committee
  19. chest — a box
  20. net — after costs
  21. bulb — for light
  22. fall — the season
  23. craft — a skill
  24. clip — for paper

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