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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. key — for a lock
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. foot — a measure
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mate — a friend
  13. wind — moving air
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. mate — a partner
  16. key — in music
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. net — after costs
  23. key — the most important part
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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