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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. squash — the sport
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. craft — boats
  7. craft — a skill
  8. wound — an injury
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. row — a line
  13. squash — to crush
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — clever
  17. lean — thin
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. lean — to bend
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. foot — a measure
  24. row — to paddle

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