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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. key — the most important part
  3. game — wild animals
  4. charge — electricity
  5. key — for a lock
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wound — an injury
  8. march — the month
  9. fine — all right
  10. kid — to tease
  11. march — the month
  12. charge — a price
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. march — music
  18. hand — in cards
  19. charge — in control
  20. key — in music
  21. game — a match
  22. kid — child
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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