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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. march — the month
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — the most important part
  9. suit — in cards
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wound — an injury
  14. suit — to fit
  15. row — to paddle
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. suit — clothes
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. row — a line
  24. key — in music

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