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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wound — an injury
  5. last — finally
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bank — for money
  8. kid — child
  9. last — final
  10. cell — a phone
  11. field — for sport
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. lean — to bend
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — a match
  20. bank — for money
  21. lean — thin
  22. game — wild animals
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. last — to go on

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