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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. scale — size or range
  5. squash — to crush
  6. rule — government
  7. scale — in music
  8. ground — crushed
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. ground — a position
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. mate — a friend
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. mate — a partner
  15. squash — the sport
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. ground — the earth
  18. rule — a law
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. mate — to breed
  24. chest — a box

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