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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cold — an illness
  3. net — after costs
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. pass — a permit
  9. cold — not warm
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. land — a country
  13. net — in sport
  14. land — to come down
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. net — for catching
  20. dip — to sink
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. land — ground
  24. wound — an injury

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