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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rule — a law
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. rule — government
  12. field — for sport
  13. wind — moving air
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. field — a subject
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. foot — a measure
  21. field — farmland
  22. rush — hurry
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wind — to turn a key

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