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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cap — of ice
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. bank — for money
  6. spell — letters
  7. file — a tool
  8. cap — a lid
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bank — of a river
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. file — a document
  14. bank — for money
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — magic
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. cap — a hat
  24. file — a line of people

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