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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. last — final
  3. firm — decided
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lean — thin
  8. spring — the season
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. pass — a permit
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — of water
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. last — finally
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. firm — a company
  19. firm — steady
  20. last — to go on
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. lean — to bend
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spring — a coil

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