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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: straw · wound · rest · roll · chest · key · land · club

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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. chest — a box
  2. rest — what's left
  3. chest — of your body
  4. club — for dancing
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. chest — of your body
  8. key — the most important part
  9. club — for golf
  10. club — a group
  11. roll — a list
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. rest — what's left
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. rest — a break
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. land — to come down
  19. wound — an injury
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. key — for a lock
  22. roll — a cake
  23. straw — a straw man
  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