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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wound — an injury
  6. last — final
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bore — to tire
  11. row — to paddle
  12. stock — goods
  13. content — happy
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. row — a line
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to drill
  18. stock — shares
  19. rush — hurry
  20. content — the amount
  21. last — to go on
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. last — finally

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