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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. file — a line of people
  6. tear — from crying
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. wake — a trail
  9. file — a document
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. key — the most important part
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. key — in music
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. file — a tool
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. key — for a lock
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wound — an injury
  22. tear — from crying
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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