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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: swing · chest · wound · current · tear · present · arm · foot

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. foot — a measure
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wound — an injury
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. current — of water
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chest — a box
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. present — a gift
  13. chest — of your body
  14. swing — music
  15. present — there
  16. wound — an injury
  17. swing — in golf
  18. chest — of your body
  19. current — happening now
  20. swing — to play on
  21. tear — from crying
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. current — electric
  24. present — the time now

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