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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. roll — a cake
  11. suit — clothes
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. roll — a list
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. suit — in cards
  18. suit — to fit
  19. last — final
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. nail — for a hammer

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