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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 120 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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mug — a cup
  3. rush — hurry
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mug — a face
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. mug — to rob
  13. squash — the sport
  14. pop — soda
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pop — to visit
  17. fall — the season
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. pop — music
  21. fall — to drop
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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