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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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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: bear · chest · bay · racket · key · rule · shower · wound

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. chest — of your body
  3. key — the most important part
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. shower — rain
  7. rule — a law
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. rule — government
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bear — the animal
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wound — an injury
  20. shower — to wash
  21. key — for a lock
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. key — in music

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