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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 120 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mug — a cup
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. mug — a face
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mug — to rob
  9. row — to paddle
  10. face — to point toward
  11. club — for golf
  12. squash — the sport
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. row — a line
  18. squash — to crush
  19. tear — from crying
  20. face — part of the head
  21. club — for dancing
  22. tear — from crying
  23. face — to confront
  24. club — a group

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