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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. branch — a division
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. board — to get on
  11. chest — a box
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. present — there
  16. field — a subject
  17. present — a gift
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. present — the time now
  20. board — a committee
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. branch — of a bank

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