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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. squash — the sport
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. spring — of water
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. spell — magic
  19. fork — in a road
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. spell — letters
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. spell — a short time

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