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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wound — an injury
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. degree — an amount
  12. club — for golf
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. club — for dancing
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. degree — from a university
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. club — a group

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