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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. spell — letters
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bark — to shout
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spell — a short time
  8. wound — an injury
  9. spell — magic
  10. bass — the fish
  11. kid — child
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bass — low music
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. kid — to tease
  20. prune — to trim
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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