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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. band — a music group
  4. wound — an injury
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. band — a ring
  7. object — a thing
  8. object — to protest
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. object — an aim
  13. pound — a weight
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. snap — to click
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. season — of the year
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. degree — an amount
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. degree — temperature
  23. season — in sport
  24. degree — from a university

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