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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fine — high quality
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. season — of the year
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — in a road
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. fine — all right
  9. wound — an injury
  10. swing — to play on
  11. hand — help
  12. toast — bread
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. season — in sport
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. swing — music
  23. hand — in cards
  24. swing — in golf

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