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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 one o'clock ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. last — final
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ball — a dance
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. sharp — clever
  13. last — to go on
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bear — the animal
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. ball — a great time
  24. last — finally

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