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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. chest — a box
  4. march — music
  5. swing — music
  6. march — the month
  7. stock — shares
  8. mate — to breed
  9. swing — to play on
  10. stock — goods
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. root — of a word
  13. face — to confront
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. mate — a friend
  16. face — to point toward
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. root — of a plant
  19. face — part of the head
  20. march — the month
  21. mate — a partner
  22. chest — of your body
  23. root — the cause
  24. swing — in golf

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