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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cue · wound · straw · snap · mine · saw · pitcher · bowl

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. cue — a signal
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — for pool
  20. snap — to click
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bowl — a football final

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