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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 120 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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. spring — of water
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. stand — to bear
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spring — the season
  11. craft — a skill
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. lie — to recline
  15. chest — a box
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. craft — boats
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. spring — a coil
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — to shout

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