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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. content — happy
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pass — a permit
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. content — the amount
  11. chest — a box
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. sharp — clever
  18. chest — of your body
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. chair — a leader
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. wound — an injury
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. hand — help

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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