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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. stand — to bear
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fall — to drop
  5. saw — the tool
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chest — a box
  8. march — the month
  9. chest — of your body
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fall — the season
  18. march — music
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. march — the month
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. fall — to drop

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