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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cue — a signal
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. race — humankind
  7. squash — the sport
  8. race — the arms race
  9. cue — for pool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mine — for digging
  12. season — of the year
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cue — a hint
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. file — a tool
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. saw — the tool
  19. file — a document
  20. saw — the tool
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. season — in sport
  24. race — a contest

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