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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. land — to come down
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. rest — what's left
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. current — of water
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. land — ground
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bark — to shout
  18. current — happening now
  19. current — electric
  20. land — a country
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. rest — a break
  24. nail — for a hammer

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