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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kid — to tease
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. track — a song
  5. tear — from crying
  6. swing — in golf
  7. rush — hurry
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wound — an injury
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. track — a path
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — to play on
  17. kid — child
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. track — to keep track
  23. dip — to sink
  24. chair — to sit 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