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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. spell — magic
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. row — a line
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. roll — a list
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bear — the animal
  11. roll — a cake
  12. spell — letters
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. rush — hurry
  15. squash — the sport
  16. spell — a short time
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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