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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. deal — to handle
  7. field — farmland
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bass — the fish
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chair — a leader
  17. perch — the fish
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bass — low music

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