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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. row — a line
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. ball — a great time
  8. drill — a practice
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. drill — the tool
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cold — not warm
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. firm — steady
  16. firm — a company
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cold — an illness
  20. row — to paddle
  21. firm — decided
  22. drill — army training
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. squash — the 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