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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mark — a grade
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. land — to come down
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. mark — a trace
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — high quality
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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