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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stand — to bear
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — the month
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. fine — all right
  10. degree — an amount
  11. march — the month
  12. sharp — clever
  13. degree — temperature
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. degree — from a university
  16. hand — help
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. march — music
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. hand — in cards
  24. fine — high quality

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