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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. drill — the tool
  4. lie — to recline
  5. saw — the tool
  6. drill — army training
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. stem — to come from
  9. band — a ring
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. club — for dancing
  12. wound — an injury
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. pass — a permit
  16. saw — the tool
  17. band — a music group
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. drill — a practice

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