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

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. last — to go on
  5. kick — in football
  6. last — final
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wound — an injury
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fine — high quality
  15. last — finally
  16. land — to come down
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. wound — an injury

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