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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. net — in sport
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mug — a cup
  5. wake — a trail
  6. net — after costs
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. field — a subject
  9. mug — to rob
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. net — for catching
  18. prune — to trim
  19. field — for sport
  20. mug — a face
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. field — farmland
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. prune — to trim

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