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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rock — a stone
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. pit — a hole
  7. stem — to come from
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. rock — music
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. scale — in music
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — in a race
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. fan — a supporter

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