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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. key — the most important part
  5. sharp — clever
  6. spell — letters
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — a short time
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bear — the animal
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. bear — the animal
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. key — in music
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chest — a box
  21. kid — child
  22. wound — an injury
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. wound — an injury

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