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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. squash — to crush
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. march — the month
  9. suit — clothes
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. suit — in cards
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. last — final
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. shower — rain
  19. suit — to fit
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. wound — an injury
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pound — a weight

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