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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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. bank — for money
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rock — music
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. row — a line
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rock — a stone
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bank — for money
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cold — an illness
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cap — of ice
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. row — to paddle
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. bank — of a river
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. row — a quarrel

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