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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mark — a grade
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. wound — an injury
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. craft — boats
  14. ball — a dance
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. clip — to cut
  20. ball — a great time
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chair — a leader
  23. craft — a skill
  24. ruler — for measuring

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