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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fall — the season
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. net — after costs
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. drill — a practice
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bark — to shout
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. net — for catching
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. net — in sport
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. scale — in music
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bat — the animal
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. drill — army training

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