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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 116 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. snap — to click
  3. shower — to wash
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wound — an injury
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cell — in biology
  11. mug — a face
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. shower — rain
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. mug — to rob
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cell — a phone
  24. mug — a cup

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