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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 120 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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. sharp — clever
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cue — a hint
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. shower — rain
  9. rash — hasty
  10. cue — for pool
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cue — a signal
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rash — a series
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. rash — on the skin

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