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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — in cards
  3. track — a song
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bank — for money
  6. hand — help
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bank — of a river
  12. wound — an injury
  13. track — to keep track
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. bank — for money
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. track — a path
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. chest — a box
  24. bat — in an idiom

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