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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. wound — an injury
  3. scale — in music
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. march — the month
  7. swing — in golf
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. swing — music
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. scale — size or range
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. foot — a measure
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tear — from crying
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. swing — to play on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — to rip
  22. march — music
  23. fine — all right
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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