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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. last — final
  3. lean — thin
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. rule — a law
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. last — finally
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wound — an injury
  14. swing — in golf
  15. last — to go on
  16. rule — government
  17. lean — to bend
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. swing — to play on
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. swing — music
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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