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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fine — high quality
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. fine — all right
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. last — final
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. rash — a series
  20. last — finally
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. last — to go on
  23. rash — hasty
  24. mine — for digging

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