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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wound — an injury
  3. squash — to crush
  4. staff — employees
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. plane — a tool
  8. cold — an illness
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. staff — employees
  12. content — the amount
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. staff — a stick
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. content — happy
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. court — of a king
  22. squash — the sport
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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