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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. mug — a cup
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bat — the animal
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mug — a face
  14. shower — rain
  15. mug — to rob
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. ground — a position
  20. swing — to play on
  21. rash — a series
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. row — a line
  24. row — a quarrel

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