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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. foot — a measure
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. rest — what's left
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wound — an injury
  14. row — to paddle
  15. pitch — completely
  16. hand — help
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wax — to grow
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. row — a line

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