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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 120 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wound — an injury
  4. present — there
  5. mine — for digging
  6. game — wild animals
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. track — a song
  9. present — the time now
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — a series
  12. bass — the fish
  13. game — a match
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. track — to keep track
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bass — low music
  21. track — a path
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. present — a gift
  24. season — of the year

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