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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: tear · swing · chest · key · wound · can · hand · rule

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. key — for a lock
  4. chest — a box
  5. hand — in cards
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — a tin
  8. key — the most important part
  9. tear — from crying
  10. swing — music
  11. tear — to rip
  12. can — to be able to
  13. rule — a law
  14. swing — in golf
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. swing — to play on
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. key — in music
  22. rule — government
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. chest — of your body

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