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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 bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cue — for pool
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. prune — to trim
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. rush — hurry
  15. cue — a hint
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. prune — to trim
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cold — not warm
  22. deal — to handle
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. cold — the Cold War

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