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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cell — a phone
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. file — a tool
  10. rash — a series
  11. wound — an injury
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rash — hasty
  17. toast — bread
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. file — a document
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. rush — hurry
  24. pitcher — a jug

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