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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: mine · row · wound · cold · saw · squash · suit · hand

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cold — not warm
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. suit — clothes
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. hand — help
  13. mine — for digging
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. squash — the sport
  16. saw — the tool
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wound — an injury
  20. squash — to crush
  21. saw — the tool
  22. suit — to fit
  23. cold — an illness
  24. suit — in cards

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