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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wake — a trail
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. last — finally
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. suit — clothes
  9. suit — to fit
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. wound — an injury
  12. suit — in cards
  13. row — a line
  14. deal — to handle
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cold — an illness
  18. row — to paddle
  19. last — to go on
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. last — final
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. row — a quarrel

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