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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wound — an injury
  4. key — for a lock
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — in music
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. march — music
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. lie — an untruth

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