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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 120 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: cell · foot · sharp · chest · row · tube · cold · season

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. season — of the year
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cell — a phone
  7. tube — a container
  8. row — to paddle
  9. season — in sport
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. chest — a box
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — the underground
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. cold — an illness
  17. row — a line
  18. foot — a measure
  19. cell — in biology
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cold — not warm

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