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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — for money
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ground — the earth
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. file — a tool
  9. ground — a position
  10. file — a line of people
  11. dip — to sink
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. ground — crushed
  14. squash — to crush
  15. row — a line
  16. file — a document
  17. row — to paddle
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. squash — the sport
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bank — of a river
  24. nail — for a hammer

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