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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stem · chest · wind · key · racket · kid

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. key — for a lock
  3. chest — a box
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. key — the most important part
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stem — to come from
  13. key — in music
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. chest — of your body

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