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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. suit — clothes
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. suit — to fit
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. row — a line
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. row — to paddle
  14. vault — a safe
  15. suit — in cards
  16. cold — not warm
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. sharp — clever
  19. hand — help
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. cold — an illness
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. squash — to crush

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