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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. ball — a dance
  7. prune — to trim
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. saw — the tool
  10. snap — to click
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. march — the month
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. ball — a great time
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fine — all right
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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