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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rest — a break
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pit — a hole
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. rush — hurry
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pitch — completely
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rest — what's left
  14. chest — a box
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. pit — in a race
  17. chest — of your body
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. kid — child

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