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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. capital — a city
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. capital — money
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a trace
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. mug — to rob
  14. season — of the year
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mug — a face
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. mug — a cup

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