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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. chest — of your body
  3. sharp — clever
  4. can — to be able to
  5. court — of law
  6. present — a gift
  7. chest — of your body
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. root — of a word
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. can — a tin
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. chest — a box
  18. can — a tin
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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