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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bat — the animal
  3. object — an aim
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. object — to protest
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pop — music
  13. rush — hurry
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. rest — what's left
  19. object — a thing
  20. wax — to grow
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — soda

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