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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chest — of your body
  3. swing — to play on
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. net — in sport
  8. swing — in golf
  9. chest — a box
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. capital — money
  12. swing — music
  13. bulb — for light
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. net — for catching
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bulb — for light
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. net — after costs

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