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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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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: staff · pound · cell · swing · foot · mate · chest · game

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. swing — in golf
  3. staff — a stick
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. game — wild animals
  8. mate — a friend
  9. foot — a measure
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. swing — music
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. chest — of your body
  14. game — a match
  15. chest — a box
  16. pound — a weight
  17. cell — in biology
  18. swing — to play on
  19. mate — a partner
  20. staff — employees
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. staff — employees
  24. mate — to breed

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