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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. chest — a box
  3. pitch — completely
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lean — thin
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wound — an injury
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. rash — hasty
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rash — a series
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lean — to bend

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