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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. game — a match
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. branch — a division
  6. club — for golf
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — goods
  10. club — a group
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wound — an injury
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. club — for dancing
  17. chest — of your body
  18. game — wild animals
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fine — all right
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chest — a box
  24. fine — a penalty

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