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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. ball — a dance
  4. season — in sport
  5. spell — magic
  6. ball — a great time
  7. wound — an injury
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. rule — a law
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. mark — a grade
  15. spell — letters
  16. rule — government
  17. spell — a short time
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. drill — the tool
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. season — of the year
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. mark — a trace

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