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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: ground · chest · arm · jam · root · squash · track · patient

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. chest — of your body
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. chest — a box
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. track — to keep track
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. ground — a position
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. squash — to crush
  14. ground — crushed
  15. root — of a word
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. track — a song
  18. track — a path
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. root — the cause
  21. ground — the earth
  22. root — of a plant
  23. squash — the sport
  24. jam — in traffic

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