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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. key — for a lock
  3. bore — to tire
  4. chest — of your body
  5. key — in music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — of a word
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bore — to drill
  14. saw — the tool
  15. key — the most important part
  16. saw — the tool
  17. chest — a box
  18. wound — an injury
  19. root — the cause
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. wax — to grow

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