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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. face — to point toward
  3. tube — the underground
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. court — of a king
  7. last — final
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. last — finally
  11. face — to confront
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. face — part of the head
  15. court — of law
  16. last — to go on
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tube — a container
  19. hand — help
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hand — in cards
  22. rush — hurry
  23. court — for sport
  24. tear — from crying

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