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

Word bank: stick · cap · sharp · swing · drill · pit · chest · cold

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — of ice
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. swing — music
  11. chest — a box
  12. drill — a practice
  13. sharp — clever
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. pit — in a race
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. chest — of your body
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cold — an illness

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