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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. net — in sport
  3. wind — moving air
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. spring — the season
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. spring — of water
  10. rule — a law
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rule — government
  18. net — for catching
  19. wound — an injury
  20. net — after costs
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cell — a phone
  23. spring — a coil
  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