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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. club — a group
  3. wind — moving air
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wound — an injury
  6. club — for golf
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pit — a hole
  9. drill — the tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. drill — army training
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. drill — a practice
  16. game — a match
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. club — for dancing

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