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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wound — an injury
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wound — an injury
  5. drill — the tool
  6. stock — goods
  7. drill — army training
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. capital — a city
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. capital — money
  16. stock — shares
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. lean — to bend
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. mine — for digging

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