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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bear — the animal
  3. file — a line of people
  4. spell — a short time
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. squash — the sport
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. march — the month
  14. spell — letters
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bear — the animal
  17. march — the month
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. spell — magic
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. march — music
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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