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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. sharp — clever
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. last — final
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. last — to go on
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. last — finally
  19. branch — a division
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. game — wild animals

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