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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wind — moving air
  4. game — wild animals
  5. march — music
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. mate — a partner
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wind — moving air
  19. march — the month
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. march — the month
  22. mate — a friend
  23. game — a match
  24. lie — to recline

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