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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pass — a permit
  4. scale — in music
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. mate — a friend
  7. roll — a cake
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. scale — size or range
  13. roll — a list
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. shower — to wash
  23. mate — to breed
  24. shower — rain

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