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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. cue — a hint
  4. fine — all right
  5. clip — a video
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. clip — for paper
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — for pool
  15. object — to protest
  16. object — an aim
  17. hand — in cards
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stem — to come from
  20. object — a thing
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. fine — high quality

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