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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pitch — completely
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. chair — a leader
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spring — of water
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. spring — the season
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. drill — army training
  16. squash — to crush
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. squash — the sport
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. drill — a practice
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. drill — the tool
  24. pitch — a sports field

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