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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wind — moving air
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. row — a line
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. row — to paddle
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cue — a signal
  12. mug — to rob
  13. game — a match
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cue — for pool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mug — a face
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. mug — a cup
  22. rest — a break
  23. cue — a hint
  24. cabinet — ministers

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