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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. club — a group
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. club — for golf
  5. roll — a cake
  6. rash — a series
  7. object — an aim
  8. present — the time now
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. present — a gift
  15. spring — of water
  16. rash — hasty
  17. present — there
  18. last — to go on
  19. object — to protest
  20. club — for dancing
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wound — an injury
  23. object — a thing
  24. roll — a list

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