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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. squash — the sport
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. cold — an illness
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. band — a music group
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cold — not warm
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. season — of the year
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mark — a trace
  17. season — in sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. band — a ring
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mark — a grade
  24. shower — to wash

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