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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. shower — rain
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. snap — to click
  6. dip — to sink
  7. shower — to wash
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. firm — a company
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. squash — the sport
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bass — low music
  21. firm — decided
  22. firm — steady
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. field — for sport

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