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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  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. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a dance
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. tear — to rip
  5. wound — an injury
  6. game — a match
  7. wound — an injury
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. squash — the sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. chair — a leader
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — to get on
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. tear — from crying
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. game — wild animals
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. jam — in traffic
  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