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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. toast — bread
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. perch — the fish
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. bulb — for light
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. key — for a lock
  13. chest — a box
  14. march — the month
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. key — in music
  21. key — the most important part
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bulb — for light
  24. chest — of your body

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