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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. rock — a stone
  9. kid — to tease
  10. squash — to crush
  11. row — to paddle
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rock — music
  15. toast — bread
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. row — a line
  20. squash — the sport
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. kid — child
  24. wound — an injury

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