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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. sharp — clever
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. branch — a division
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. rash — hasty
  10. cue — a signal
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. wound — an injury
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cue — for pool
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fall — the season
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. date — the fruit
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. date — on the calendar

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