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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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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 · wound · trunk · swing · cue · arm · mark · spring

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mark — a grade
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. swing — in golf
  12. spring — the season
  13. swing — music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wound — an injury
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. cue — a signal
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. chest — a box
  21. cue — a hint
  22. mark — a trace
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. spring — of water

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