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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wake — a trail
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cold — an illness
  6. scale — size or range
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. bark — to shout
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wound — an injury
  14. capital — money
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. foot — a measure
  18. swing — music
  19. capital — a city
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. foot — part of the body

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