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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. wound — an injury
  6. drill — army training
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. squash — the sport
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. saw — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. squash — to crush
  15. land — to come down
  16. drill — the tool
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. land — ground
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. land — a country
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. saw — the tool

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