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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. club — for golf
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for dancing
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rush — hurry
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. clip — a video
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. rule — government
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rule — a law
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cold — not warm

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