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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. field — a subject
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. season — of the year
  5. band — a ring
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. snap — to click
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. band — a music group
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. mine — for digging
  14. season — in sport
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. field — for sport
  17. wound — an injury
  18. lean — to bend
  19. field — farmland
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. lean — thin
  24. band — a rubber band

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