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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. roll — a list
  10. last — final
  11. squash — the sport
  12. last — finally
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. kid — to tease
  15. last — to go on
  16. roll — a cake
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fork — in a road
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. wound — an injury
  23. squash — to crush
  24. kid — child

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