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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. mine — for digging
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. kid — child
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. last — to go on
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pop — soda
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. last — final
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. last — finally
  21. rash — hasty
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — music
  24. rash — a series

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