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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — to handle
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. drill — army training
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bat — the animal
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. drill — a practice
  18. club — for golf
  19. drill — the tool
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. wound — an injury

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