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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a friend
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. mate — a partner
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — to cool the air

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