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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — music
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. branch — a division
  11. drill — the tool
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. perch — the fish
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the sport
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pop — to visit
  23. drill — army training
  24. squash — the vegetable

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