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

Word bank: mine · bear · arm · toast · cap · wake · kid · wound

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cap — of ice
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. kid — child
  9. bear — the animal
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. wake — a trail
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cap — a hat
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cap — a lid
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. kid — to tease
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. toast — bread
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bear — the animal

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