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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — thin
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. squash — the sport
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bass — the fish
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. row — a line
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bass — low music
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. lean — to bend

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