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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. last — finally
  3. ground — a position
  4. kid — child
  5. drill — a practice
  6. ground — crushed
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. last — to go on
  11. band — a music group
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. drill — the tool
  16. band — a ring
  17. last — final
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the fish
  20. drill — army training
  21. ground — the earth
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. band — a rubber band
  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