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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kid — to tease
  3. march — the month
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. kid — child
  6. mug — a cup
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. shower — rain
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. march — the month
  11. shower — to wash
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. net — after costs
  14. wound — an injury
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. march — music
  17. mug — a face
  18. game — a match
  19. mug — to rob
  20. net — for catching
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — wild animals
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. net — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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