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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. last — to go on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bound — certain
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bound — tied together
  15. last — finally
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bound — obliged
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. kick — in football
  23. last — final
  24. wound — an injury

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