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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 will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. march — the month
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. fall — the season
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. clip — a video
  10. scale — size or range
  11. rule — a law
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. clip — to cut
  14. fall — to drop
  15. deal — to handle
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — government
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wound — an injury
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. clip — for paper

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