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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 124 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. track — a path
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. track — to keep track
  5. firm — steady
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. track — a song
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wind — moving air
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. cell — in biology
  19. firm — a company
  20. tube — the underground
  21. firm — decided
  22. tube — a container
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cell — a phone

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