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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. present — there
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. game — wild animals
  8. present — the time now
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — to rip
  11. game — a match
  12. spell — letters
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bulb — for light
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bulb — for light
  19. fine — high quality
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. spell — magic
  23. fine — all right
  24. game — a kind of play

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