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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. season — of the year
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — certain
  10. season — in sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. spell — letters
  14. present — the time now
  15. rash — a series
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rash — hasty
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. present — there
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bound — tied together

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