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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. wound — an injury
  5. last — finally
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. scale — in music
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. pop — soda
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. mine — for digging
  15. kick — in football
  16. last — final
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. last — to go on
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. kick — with a leg

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