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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: chest · suit · wound · wind · ball · kick · content · key

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wind — moving air
  4. content — happy
  5. ball — a dance
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. ball — a great time
  10. suit — to fit
  11. suit — clothes
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. suit — in cards
  14. chest — a box
  15. key — the most important part
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chest — of your body
  19. key — for a lock
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. content — the amount
  22. kick — in football
  23. key — in music
  24. ball — a round shape

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