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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tear — from crying
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. cue — for pool
  6. snap — to click
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. rash — a series
  9. kick — in football
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bound — tied together
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. cue — a hint
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bound — obliged
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bound — certain
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cue — a signal

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