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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. march — the month
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. rash — a series
  8. march — music
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. track — a song
  12. rash — hasty
  13. march — the month
  14. track — to keep track
  15. lie — to recline
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. tube — a container
  19. track — a path
  20. fork — in a road
  21. tube — the underground
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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