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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. capital — money
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. kid — child
  12. capital — a city
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — clever
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. squash — the sport
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. kid — to tease

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