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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · roll · fine · kick · chest · row · mouse · wound

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. row — a line
  3. roll — a list
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chest — of your body
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. chest — of your body
  11. row — to paddle
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a cake
  15. fine — all right
  16. fine — high quality
  17. land — ground
  18. kick — in football
  19. land — a country
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. land — to come down
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. chest — a box
  24. kick — a thrill

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