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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. file — a line of people
  4. rule — government
  5. hand — in cards
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. suit — to fit
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. file — a document
  11. snap — to click
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. degree — an amount
  15. suit — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. hand — help
  19. degree — from a university
  20. suit — clothes
  21. file — a tool
  22. degree — temperature
  23. stand — to bear
  24. wound — an injury

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