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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. spell — letters
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — a gift
  6. mark — a grade
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. present — there
  9. mark — a trace
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bark — to shout
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. club — a group
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — a short time
  16. chest — of your body
  17. club — for golf
  18. spell — magic
  19. chest — of your body
  20. net — for catching
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — in sport
  24. chest — a box

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