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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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468
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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wind — moving air
  3. roll — a list
  4. swing — to play on
  5. key — for a lock
  6. swing — in golf
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. march — the month
  10. wind — moving air
  11. key — the most important part
  12. key — in music
  13. chest — of your body
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. march — music
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. swing — music
  18. chest — a box
  19. rest — what's left
  20. roll — a cake
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. march — the month
  24. rest — a break

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