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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cold — an illness
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. cold — not warm
  8. swing — to play on
  9. fine — high quality
  10. board — a committee
  11. fine — all right
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. fork — in a road
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — rain
  17. board — to get on
  18. shower — to wash
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pitcher — a jug

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