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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 · racket · kick · spell · hand · pound · key · fine

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. hand — help
  3. fine — all right
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. key — the most important part
  7. spell — a short time
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. spell — letters
  12. chest — of your body
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. key — for a lock
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. chest — a box
  17. spell — magic
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pound — a weight
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. fine — high quality
  24. pound — to hit hard

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