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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · pitcher · hand · cold · charge · sharp · squash · court

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. sharp — clever
  3. court — of a king
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. charge — in control
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. hand — in cards
  13. cold — not warm
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cold — an illness
  17. charge — a price
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. squash — the sport
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. charge — electricity
  24. hand — help

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