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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bound — certain
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. scale — in music
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bound — obliged
  19. scale — size or range
  20. bound — tied together
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mine — belonging to me

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