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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. band — a ring
  3. track — to keep track
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. track — a path
  6. kid — child
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. track — a song
  11. band — a music group
  12. pop — soda
  13. file — a document
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. pop — to visit
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pop — music
  18. key — in music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. file — a tool
  21. key — the most important part
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. file — a line of people
  24. lash — an eyelash

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