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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. can — to be able to
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. shower — to wash
  6. can — a tin
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. cold — not warm
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. craft — a skill
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. tube — a container
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. can — a tin
  19. squash — the sport
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. shower — rain
  22. craft — boats
  23. wound — an injury
  24. tube — the underground

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