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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 120 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. squash — to crush
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stand — to bear
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. content — the amount
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wound — an injury
  15. content — happy
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. wound — an injury
  19. prune — to trim
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. row — to paddle
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — the sport

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