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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. rest — a break
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — in a road
  11. squash — to crush
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. rest — what's left
  14. spring — the season
  15. can — a tin
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cold — not warm
  19. can — to be able to
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cold — an illness
  22. spring — of water
  23. can — a tin
  24. squash — the vegetable

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