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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. swing — in golf
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. wind — moving air
  6. last — final
  7. track — to keep track
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. swing — music
  14. track — a path
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. last — finally
  18. track — a song
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. pass — a permit
  22. last — to go on
  23. swing — to play on
  24. band — a rubber band

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