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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. row — a line
  4. bass — the fish
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. file — a document
  12. deal — to handle
  13. season — in sport
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bear — the animal
  17. file — a tool
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. file — a line of people
  21. season — of the year
  22. bass — low music
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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