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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. field — farmland
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. capital — a city
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. bear — the animal
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bear — the animal
  17. file — a document
  18. capital — money
  19. field — a subject
  20. chest — of your body
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. file — a tool
  23. swing — in golf
  24. field — for sport

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