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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. chest — a box
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — a group
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pound — a weight
  14. kick — in football
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. game — wild animals
  19. chest — of your body
  20. club — for golf
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. chest — of your body
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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