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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. ground — the earth
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. hand — in cards
  10. content — the amount
  11. ball — a dance
  12. wound — an injury
  13. band — a ring
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wake — a trail
  16. band — a music group
  17. hand — help
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. content — happy
  20. lie — to recline
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. ground — a position
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. ball — a great time

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