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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  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. bowl — a football final
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. chest — of your body
  11. land — to come down
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. lean — to bend
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. lean — thin
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. land — ground
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. land — a country
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. patient — a sick person
  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