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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tube — a container
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bear — the animal
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. rash — a series
  13. bear — the animal
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. rash — hasty
  20. hand — help
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. swing — in golf
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. fork — in a road

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