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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. firm — steady
  3. swing — in golf
  4. key — in music
  5. chest — a box
  6. band — a ring
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. key — the most important part
  9. swing — to play on
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. swing — music
  12. firm — decided
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. mine — for digging
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. band — a music group
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pound — a weight
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. chest — of your body
  23. firm — a company
  24. key — for a lock

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