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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  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. wound — an injury
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. stem — to come from
  6. spell — letters
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. spell — a short time
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. spell — magic
  12. content — the amount
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. content — happy
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. wind — moving air
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. wind — moving air
  23. dip — to sink
  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