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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: drill · club · wound · foot · chest · key · swing · wind

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. swing — to play on
  3. chest — of your body
  4. key — in music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. swing — in golf
  8. wound — an injury
  9. club — for golf
  10. drill — the tool
  11. chest — a box
  12. wound — an injury
  13. drill — a practice
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chest — of your body
  17. club — for dancing
  18. key — the most important part
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. swing — music
  22. key — for a lock
  23. drill — army training
  24. foot — a measure

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