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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. shower — to wash
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wound — an injury
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bass — low music
  11. content — the amount
  12. wound — an injury
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. content — happy
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. shower — rain
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. cell — in biology
  24. ruler — for measuring

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