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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. wound — an injury
  3. shower — to wash
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. fine — all right
  6. bound — certain
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bound — obliged
  12. shower — rain
  13. squash — to crush
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. file — a tool
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. face — to confront
  20. fine — high quality
  21. squash — the sport
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. face — part of the head

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