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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. rash — hasty
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. season — in sport
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. current — electric
  12. season — of the year
  13. snap — to click
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cue — for pool
  17. hand — in cards
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — of water
  21. cue — a hint
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. cue — a signal
  24. fan — a supporter

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