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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chest — of your body
  3. key — in music
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pit — a hole
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pit — in a race
  12. key — for a lock
  13. cue — a hint
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. cue — for pool
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. chest — a box
  19. row — a line
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cue — a signal
  24. key — the most important part

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