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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — thin
  6. wound — an injury
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. shower — rain
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. wound — an injury
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. hand — in cards
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. hand — help
  19. shower — to wash
  20. squash — the sport
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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