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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. roll — a cake
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. file — a tool
  6. chest — a box
  7. file — a line of people
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. mug — to rob
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. roll — a list
  12. mug — a cup
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — tied together
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. bound — certain
  18. chest — of your body
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — in music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. toast — bread
  23. file — a document
  24. mug — a face

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