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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. march — the month
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. pit — in a race
  5. march — music
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. march — the month
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wind — moving air
  13. content — the amount
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — happy
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wound — an injury
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wake — before a funeral

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