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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 120 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. field — farmland
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. fall — to drop
  6. land — a country
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. rock — music
  9. rock — a stone
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fall — to drop
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. wound — an injury
  17. sharp — clever
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. fall — the season
  21. ball — a great time
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. fan — to cool the air

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