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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bulb — for light
  4. chest — of your body
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. squash — to crush
  7. track — a song
  8. wound — an injury
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. kick — in football
  12. track — to keep track
  13. chest — a box
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. squash — the sport
  16. branch — a division
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. wound — an injury
  19. track — a path
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bulb — for light
  24. squash — the vegetable

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