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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bank — of a river
  4. bank — for money
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. rush — hurry
  10. wax — to grow
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bat — the animal
  13. scale — in music
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bank — for money
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bat — in an idiom

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