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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 120 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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wound — an injury
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. last — final
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pop — music
  10. track — a song
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pop — soda
  13. present — there
  14. last — finally
  15. track — a path
  16. present — a gift
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. present — the time now
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. track — to keep track
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. last — to go on
  23. pop — to visit
  24. temple — side of the head

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