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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. wound — an injury
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. cold — not warm
  11. toast — bread
  12. content — happy
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bark — to shout
  17. content — the amount
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. club — a group
  22. rush — hurry
  23. club — for golf
  24. cold — an illness

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