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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. can — a tin
  7. mark — a grade
  8. can — a tin
  9. last — final
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wound — an injury
  12. dip — to sink
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. game — wild animals
  16. mark — a trace
  17. game — a match
  18. rest — what's left
  19. can — to be able to
  20. last — finally
  21. rest — what's left
  22. last — to go on
  23. rest — a break
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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