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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. stock — shares
  3. chest — of your body
  4. game — a match
  5. chest — of your body
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. ball — a dance
  10. chest — a box
  11. swing — in golf
  12. ball — a great time
  13. swing — music
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. swing — to play on
  16. stock — goods
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. wound — an injury
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. game — wild animals
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. stock — a soup base

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