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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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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 · pop · foot · wound · game · mouse · bulb · club

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pop — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. club — for golf
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. chest — of your body
  12. game — a match
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. bulb — for light
  15. club — for dancing
  16. pop — soda
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. chest — a box
  20. game — wild animals
  21. club — a group
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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