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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  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. wound — an injury
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. saw — the tool
  11. ground — a position
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bat — the animal
  16. saw — the tool
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. ground — the earth
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. chair — a leader
  23. perch — the fish
  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