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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. game — wild animals
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. game — a match
  8. mug — a face
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mug — a cup
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pitch — completely
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. squash — to crush
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. mug — to rob
  20. tear — to rip
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — magic

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