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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. band — a ring
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — a phone
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — goods
  14. tear — from crying
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. tear — from crying
  17. deal — to handle
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. tear — to rip
  20. band — a music group
  21. stand — to bear
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — for spectators

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