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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: straw · pit · safe · scale · arm · field · pop · chest

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. pit — a hole
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. scale — size or range
  9. pop — music
  10. field — for sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pit — in a race
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. pop — soda
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. pop — to visit
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. scale — in music
  24. arm — part of the body

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