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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. file — a document
  8. mate — a friend
  9. pop — music
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rock — a stone
  12. mate — to breed
  13. chest — a box
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pop — to visit
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pop — soda
  18. fine — all right
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. file — a tool
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rock — music
  24. mate — a partner

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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