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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cap · bass · cell · fork · chest · mate

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. 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. bass — low music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. fork — in a road
  6. bass — the fish
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cap — of ice
  9. mate — a partner
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. mate — a friend
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. mate — to breed
  15. cap — a hat
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cell — a phone
  18. 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