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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. ground — crushed
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. snap — to click
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. kid — child
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. charge — electricity
  12. kid — to tease
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. charge — in control
  15. ground — the earth
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. ground — a position
  20. march — the month
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. chair — a leader
  23. wound — an injury
  24. charge — a price

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