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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. key — in music
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — a friend
  5. spell — letters
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. content — happy
  8. pit — a hole
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. key — the most important part
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. wound — an injury
  13. object — an aim
  14. spell — magic
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. object — to protest
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. mate — to breed
  20. content — the amount
  21. spell — a short time
  22. key — for a lock
  23. object — a thing
  24. pit — in a race

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