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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. squash — the sport
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fine — high quality
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — for betting
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fine — all right
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. cell — in biology
  21. chip — to eat
  22. squash — to crush
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wind — moving air

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