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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bulb — for light
  8. march — the month
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. rock — music
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. rock — to move gently

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