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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. suit — clothes
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — boats
  5. lean — to bend
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. ground — the earth
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — a city
  11. suit — in cards
  12. ground — a position
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. lean — thin
  15. suit — to fit
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. squash — to crush
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. ground — crushed
  20. squash — the sport
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bat — the animal
  23. capital — money
  24. bat — in an idiom

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