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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wound — an injury
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. current — happening now
  6. season — in sport
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. kick — in football
  10. race — a contest
  11. bound — tied together
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. current — electric
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. race — humankind
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — certain
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. race — the arms race
  22. current — of water
  23. pound — a weight
  24. kick — with a leg

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