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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wake — a trail
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. cell — in biology
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. fine — all right
  12. track — to keep track
  13. fine — high quality
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. track — a path
  16. sharp — clever
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. chest — a box
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. track — a song
  24. stem — a stem cell

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