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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: mate · scale · pitcher · bound · chest · hand · craft · season

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mate — to breed
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mate — a partner
  5. craft — boats
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. scale — in music
  8. bound — certain
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. mate — a friend
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bound — tied together
  13. season — of the year
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bound — obliged
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. scale — size or range
  24. season — in sport

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