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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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Word bank
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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 · bear · squash · key · face · nail · bat · swing

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bear — the animal
  4. swing — music
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. key — in music
  7. squash — to crush
  8. chest — of your body
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — to point toward
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. face — part of the head
  16. bear — the animal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. key — for a lock
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. swing — in golf
  23. chest — a box
  24. key — the most important part

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