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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 · wound · chest · pop · kid · rest · straw · court

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. drill — the tool
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — to tease
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pop — to visit
  11. drill — army training
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pop — music
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. court — of law
  17. drill — a practice
  18. court — of a king
  19. chest — a box
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. pop — soda
  22. rest — a break
  23. kid — child
  24. court — for sport

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