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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. ground — crushed
  4. fork — in a road
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pit — in a race
  10. kid — child
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. pit — a hole
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. ground — the earth
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. kid — to tease
  19. ground — a position
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wound — an injury

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