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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. wound — an injury
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. squash — the sport
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. track — to keep track
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. squash — to crush
  14. row — to paddle
  15. rest — a break
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. rest — what's left
  20. track — a song
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. row — a line
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rest — what's left

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