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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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. row — a line
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mug — to rob
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wound — an injury
  10. season — in sport
  11. row — to paddle
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mug — a cup
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mug — a face
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. season — of the year
  24. leaves — to go away

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