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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. chest — of your body
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. season — of the year
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. last — to go on
  9. wound — an injury
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. last — finally
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. last — final
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. chest — a box
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chest — of your body
  20. kick — in football
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. season — in sport
  24. kick — a thrill

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