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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. branch — a division
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. game — a match
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. land — to come down
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bark — to shout
  17. scale — in music
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. game — wild animals
  23. scale — size or range
  24. game — a kind of play

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