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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. date — the fruit
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cold — an illness
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. wound — an injury
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. squash — the sport
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — a hint

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