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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kick — in football
  3. firm — steady
  4. cap — a lid
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. object — to protest
  7. firm — decided
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. stem — to come from
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. cap — a hat
  16. wound — an injury
  17. object — an aim
  18. firm — a company
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. object — a thing
  23. wake — a trail
  24. row — a line

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