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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. spring — a coil
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bound — certain
  6. ground — the earth
  7. net — for catching
  8. chest — a box
  9. net — in sport
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. ground — crushed
  12. shower — to wash
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. ground — a position
  15. spring — of water
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spring — the season
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chest — of your body
  20. shower — rain
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — obliged
  23. net — after costs
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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