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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: deal · cold · wake · tear · scale · wound · mine · club

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wake — a trail
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. scale — in music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. scale — size or range
  13. mine — for digging
  14. club — a group
  15. tear — to rip
  16. club — for dancing
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cold — not warm
  21. deal — to handle
  22. club — for golf
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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