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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 · deal · cell · kick · rash · wound · key · mate

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. mate — a friend
  8. chest — a box
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. kick — in football
  12. rash — hasty
  13. key — for a lock
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. mate — a partner
  16. cell — in biology
  17. key — the most important part
  18. key — in music
  19. rash — a series
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mate — to breed
  23. chest — of your body
  24. deal — to handle

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