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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cue — a hint
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. march — music
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. march — the month
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. wake — a trail
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cue — a signal
  17. band — a music group
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. kick — in football
  20. mine — for digging
  21. cue — for pool
  22. band — a ring
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. march — the month

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