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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 120 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. key — for a lock
  3. face — part of the head
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. chest — a box
  9. key — the most important part
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. rush — hurry
  12. face — to confront
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. band — a music group
  15. march — the month
  16. face — to point toward
  17. key — in music
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. band — a ring

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