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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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. mine — an explosive
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bass — low music
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bass — the fish
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bat — the animal
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. drill — army training
  23. mine — for digging
  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