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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wound · race · sharp · prune · cell · bass · chair · fine

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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. prune — to trim
  4. cell — a phone
  5. race — a contest
  6. bass — low music
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bass — the fish
  10. race — the arms race
  11. sharp — clever
  12. prune — to trim
  13. fine — high quality
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. race — humankind
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. fine — all right
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. chair — to sit on

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