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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pop — soda
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. mate — a friend
  6. march — music
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. march — the month
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. hand — help
  17. pop — music
  18. hand — in cards
  19. mate — to breed
  20. march — the month
  21. row — to paddle
  22. pop — to visit
  23. snap — to click
  24. mate — a partner

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