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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wound — an injury
  3. last — finally
  4. band — a music group
  5. wound — an injury
  6. row — a line
  7. file — a line of people
  8. row — to paddle
  9. last — to go on
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. file — a tool
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. last — final
  15. stand — to bear
  16. deal — to handle
  17. file — a document
  18. mate — a partner
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. mate — a friend
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. mate — to breed

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