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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  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. fine — a penalty
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. row — a line
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wound — an injury
  7. branch — a division
  8. fine — all right
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. fine — high quality
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. game — a match
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. rule — government
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. scale — in music
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rule — a law
  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