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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pop — soda
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — a friend
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. land — ground
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mate — to breed
  10. land — a country
  11. wind — moving air
  12. land — to come down
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cue — for pool
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. cue — a hint
  23. pop — music
  24. cue — a signal

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