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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chest — a box
  3. stem — to come from
  4. chest — of your body
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. wound — an injury
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. drill — army training
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. drill — the tool
  14. mark — a grade
  15. drill — a practice
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pit — a hole
  23. mark — a trace
  24. pit — in a race

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