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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cap — a hat
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. track — a song
  6. squash — to crush
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. snap — to click
  10. wound — an injury
  11. squash — the sport
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — goods
  14. track — to keep track
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — hasty
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. track — a path

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