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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. track — a path
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. pitch — completely
  7. last — to go on
  8. track — a song
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wound — an injury
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. last — finally
  17. dip — to sink
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. last — final
  20. track — to keep track
  21. pound — a weight
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. pound — to hit hard

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