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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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. fine — all right
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. land — ground
  7. cell — a phone
  8. object — a thing
  9. fine — high quality
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bass — the fish
  15. pitch — completely
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. object — to protest
  20. bass — low music
  21. object — an aim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. prune — the fruit

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