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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. club — for golf
  3. key — in music
  4. key — for a lock
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. key — the most important part
  8. club — a group
  9. land — ground
  10. club — for dancing
  11. present — the time now
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. land — a country
  17. spell — magic
  18. hand — in cards
  19. land — to come down
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. wake — a trail
  23. present — there
  24. present — a gift

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