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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. drill — the tool
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — a signal
  6. squash — the sport
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. drill — army training
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. fall — to drop
  14. squash — to crush
  15. hand — help
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fall — the season
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. drill — a practice

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