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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tube — a container
  3. wound — an injury
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. tube — the underground
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. court — of a king
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bound — obliged
  11. land — a country
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. bound — certain
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bound — tied together
  18. court — of law
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. land — ground
  21. court — for sport
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bark — to shout
  24. land — to come down

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