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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wound — an injury
  7. squash — the sport
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. date — the fruit
  21. mine — for digging
  22. degree — from a university
  23. squash — to crush
  24. pass — a permit

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