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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. spell — a short time
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. spell — letters
  5. wound — an injury
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chest — a box
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. chest — of your body
  11. current — electric
  12. current — of water
  13. chair — a leader
  14. current — happening now
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. spell — magic
  17. wake — a trail
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mine — for digging
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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