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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. drill — army training
  3. wind — moving air
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. drill — a practice
  10. court — of a king
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. mine — for digging
  13. court — for sport
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. drill — the tool
  17. court — of law
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. degree — from a university
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. degree — temperature

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