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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. scale — for weighing
  3. root — of a plant
  4. scale — in music
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. spring — the season
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. spring — a coil
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. row — to paddle
  15. scale — size or range
  16. root — of a word
  17. spring — of water
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. root — the cause
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. row — a line
  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