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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bass — low music
  3. squash — the sport
  4. cell — a phone
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. spell — a short time
  9. club — for golf
  10. spell — magic
  11. squash — to crush
  12. pit — a hole
  13. club — a group
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. club — for dancing
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. spell — letters
  20. wound — an injury
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bass — the fish
  23. cell — in biology
  24. nail — for a hammer

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