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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mark — a trace
  3. season — in sport
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. season — of the year
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. rash — hasty
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. mark — a grade
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. squash — the sport
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rash — a series
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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