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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. field — farmland
  3. pop — soda
  4. field — a subject
  5. cap — a hat
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. pop — to visit
  8. shower — rain
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. shower — to wash
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. field — for sport
  19. cap — of ice
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. pop — music
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cap — a lid

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