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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. fine — all right
  4. last — to go on
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. game — a match
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fine — high quality
  12. last — final
  13. last — finally
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pit — in a race
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pit — a hole
  19. squash — to crush
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wound — an injury
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. game — a kind of play

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