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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  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. ball — a round shape
  3. drill — army training
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ball — a dance
  7. spring — a coil
  8. pound — a weight
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. present — there
  12. spring — the season
  13. ball — a great time
  14. drill — the tool
  15. kid — child
  16. present — the time now
  17. spring — of water
  18. present — a gift
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. kid — to tease
  23. drill — a practice
  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