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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. scale — in music
  3. swing — music
  4. spring — the season
  5. spell — a short time
  6. chest — a box
  7. swing — to play on
  8. spell — magic
  9. spring — of water
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. spell — letters
  12. chest — of your body
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. swing — in golf
  15. scale — size or range
  16. net — for catching
  17. wound — an injury
  18. net — after costs
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. spring — a coil
  24. net — in sport

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