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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wound — an injury
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wound — an injury
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. key — in music
  9. shower — rain
  10. squash — the sport
  11. key — the most important part
  12. squash — to crush
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. shower — to wash
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. hand — help
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. key — for a lock
  22. hand — in cards
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. safe — a strongbox

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