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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. march — the month
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. tear — to rip
  6. spell — magic
  7. wake — a trail
  8. march — the month
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. chest — a box
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — letters
  17. march — music
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. tear — from crying
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. tear — from crying

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