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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. land — a country
  3. land — to come down
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. rash — hasty
  6. march — music
  7. squash — to crush
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. mark — a trace
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. march — the month
  16. mark — a grade
  17. squash — the sport
  18. ball — a dance
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. ball — a great time
  21. rash — a series
  22. land — ground
  23. march — the month
  24. ball — a round shape

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