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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 124 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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. field — farmland
  3. squash — to crush
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. field — for sport
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. squash — the sport
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. field — a subject
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rush — hurry
  18. wound — an injury
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bay — a horse colour

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