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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. band — a ring
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. snap — to click
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. present — there
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. present — a gift
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. row — to paddle
  19. band — a music group
  20. row — a line
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. present — the time now
  24. bear — the animal

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