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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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. cold — an illness
  4. staff — employees
  5. drill — the tool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fine — all right
  10. drill — army training
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. staff — employees
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. fine — high quality
  18. drill — a practice
  19. staff — a stick
  20. row — to paddle
  21. branch — a division
  22. row — a line
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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