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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. last — to go on
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. craft — a skill
  5. chest — of your body
  6. squash — to crush
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. press — newspapers
  9. craft — boats
  10. chest — a box
  11. row — a line
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — in music
  15. squash — the sport
  16. last — finally
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. last — final
  19. plane — a tool
  20. key — for a lock
  21. press — a publisher
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. press — to push
  24. row — to paddle

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