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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 116 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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bass — the fish
  3. rash — a series
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rash — hasty
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ball — a great time
  11. clip — a video
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bank — for money
  14. cold — not warm
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. wound — an injury
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. clip — for paper
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bank — for money
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bass — low music
  24. rash — on the skin

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