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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. prune — to trim
  3. march — the month
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — a partner
  6. wound — an injury
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. march — music
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. row — a line
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. mate — to breed
  19. march — the month
  20. fall — the season
  21. row — to paddle
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ruler — a monarch

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