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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. chest — of your body
  3. scale — size or range
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. stem — to come from
  6. cap — a hat
  7. sharp — clever
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — there
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. saw — the tool
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. club — for dancing
  14. saw — the tool
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — a group
  17. present — a gift
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cap — of ice
  23. chest — a box
  24. cap — a lid

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