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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. suit — in cards
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. suit — to fit
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. bass — the fish
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wake — a trail
  14. pitch — completely
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. suit — clothes
  18. court — of law
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. bass — low music
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. spring — the season

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