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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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. snap — to click
  4. march — the month
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — in music
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. board — a committee
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. march — the month
  19. scale — size or range
  20. board — to get on
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. rash — hasty
  23. wound — an injury
  24. march — music

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