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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. land — ground
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. track — a song
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. chest — of your body
  13. land — to come down
  14. rush — hurry
  15. track — to keep track
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. land — a country
  21. track — a path
  22. deal — to handle
  23. mine — for digging
  24. deal — a big deal

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