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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. lie — to recline
  3. staff — a stick
  4. scale — size or range
  5. staff — employees
  6. march — the month
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. file — a line of people
  9. march — music
  10. file — a document
  11. scale — in music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. staff — employees
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. file — a tool
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. cold — an illness
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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