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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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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. swing — music
  5. roll — a list
  6. swing — in golf
  7. lie — to recline
  8. key — in music
  9. bat — the animal
  10. present — a gift
  11. chest — a box
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. roll — a cake
  14. present — there
  15. key — for a lock
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. chest — of your body
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. key — the most important part
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. swing — to play on
  24. present — the time now

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