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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. swing — music
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. craft — a skill
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — of ice
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. craft — boats
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cap — a lid
  23. mine — for digging
  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