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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. shower — rain
  5. hand — in cards
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. band — a music group
  8. hand — help
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. band — a ring
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. shower — to wash
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. hand — part of the body

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