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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wind — moving air
  3. drill — the tool
  4. suit — in cards
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. spell — letters
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. mine — for digging
  17. wind — moving air
  18. suit — to fit
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — crushed
  21. wound — an injury
  22. suit — clothes
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mine — an explosive

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