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

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bound — certain
  5. rule — a law
  6. chest — a box
  7. net — for catching
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. bound — obliged
  11. net — after costs
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. chest — of your body
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bound — tied together
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pitch — completely
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. rule — government

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