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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. row — a line
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wound — an injury
  5. swing — in golf
  6. key — for a lock
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. last — to go on
  9. season — in sport
  10. rush — hurry
  11. season — of the year
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. key — in music
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. swing — to play on
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. key — the most important part
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. branch — a division
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. swing — music

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