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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — for a lock
  4. ball — a dance
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. key — in music
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. swing — to play on
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chest — a box
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a match
  13. ball — a great time
  14. stand — to bear
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. swing — music
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. swing — in golf
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. saw — the tool
  23. chest — of your body
  24. patient — a sick person

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