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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. chest — a box
  2. dip — to sink
  3. staff — employees
  4. chest — of your body
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. kid — to tease
  8. field — a subject
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a hole
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. field — farmland
  17. kid — child
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. row — to paddle
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. row — a line
  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