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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 116 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pass — a permit
  3. season — in sport
  4. current — of water
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fine — high quality
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. row — a line
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. current — electric
  19. row — to paddle
  20. fine — all right
  21. pit — a hole
  22. current — happening now
  23. season — of the year
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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