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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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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: wound · tube · squash · cabinet · kid · mug · pitcher · object

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. squash — the sport
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. object — a thing
  11. squash — to crush
  12. kid — to tease
  13. object — an aim
  14. mug — a cup
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. tube — the underground
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tube — a container
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mug — to rob
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. kid — child
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. mug — a face

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