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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 · wake · face · racket · spring · hand · nail

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. hand — in cards
  3. face — part of the head
  4. spring — the season
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. spring — a coil
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. face — to point toward
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pop — soda
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. hand — help
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. chest — a box
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. spring — of water
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — to visit
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. face — to confront

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