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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. capital — a city
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. capital — money
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. season — of the year
  7. object — a thing
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. bat — the animal
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. object — an aim
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pound — a weight
  17. season — in sport
  18. object — to protest
  19. date — the fruit
  20. chest — a box
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bowl — a dish

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