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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. game — a match
  9. kick — in football
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. ball — a dance
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. ball — a great time
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cold — an illness

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