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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. staff — employees
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. wound — an injury
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wake — a trail
  11. game — a match
  12. staff — employees
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a hat
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. cap — a lid
  18. kick — in football
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. staff — a stick
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pitcher — a jug

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