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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. mate — a friend
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. mate — a partner
  7. rash — hasty
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. rash — a series
  11. vault — a safe
  12. mate — to breed
  13. sharp — clever
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. stock — shares
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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