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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: chest · wave · land · kick · march · wound · coach · deal

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. land — a country
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kick — in football
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. march — music
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. land — ground
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. chest — a box
  15. deal — to handle
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. chest — of your body
  18. land — to come down
  19. march — the month
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. march — the month
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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