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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 120 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 a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. hand — help
  4. march — the month
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wind — moving air
  11. march — music
  12. fine — all right
  13. wound — an injury
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. march — the month
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. fine — high quality

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