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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. swing — to play on
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. shower — to wash
  5. wind — moving air
  6. swing — in golf
  7. chest — of your body
  8. swing — music
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — a series
  18. shower — rain
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — completely
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. wind — to turn a key

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