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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: kid · march · chest · foot · swing · pop · roll · wound

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. swing — music
  3. pop — to visit
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pop — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — music
  8. kid — child
  9. chest — of your body
  10. kid — to tease
  11. march — the month
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. roll — a list
  15. swing — in golf
  16. chest — of your body
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pop — soda
  21. swing — to play on
  22. chest — a box
  23. march — the month
  24. roll — a cake

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