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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of 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. craft — a skill
  3. capital — a city
  4. craft — boats
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. swing — music
  8. chest — of your body
  9. net — after costs
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. net — for catching
  12. swing — in golf
  13. object — an aim
  14. capital — money
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. object — a thing
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. object — to protest
  22. swing — to play on
  23. net — in sport
  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