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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. hand — in cards
  3. shower — to wash
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. row — a line
  6. kid — child
  7. shower — rain
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hand — help
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. row — to paddle
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. squash — the sport
  22. kid — to tease
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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