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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wound — an injury
  3. march — music
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. march — the month
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — in a race
  18. march — the month

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