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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. ground — the earth
  3. chest — of your body
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. swing — in golf
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. ground — a position
  9. kick — in football
  10. land — ground
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. swing — music
  14. land — to come down
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. ground — crushed
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. swing — to play on
  19. land — a country
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. chest — a box
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. kick — with a leg

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