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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. spring — of water
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — for catching
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. spring — a coil
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spring — the season
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. date — the fruit
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. chest — of your body
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. row — a line
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. net — in sport

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