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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: mug · pitcher · wound · suit · club · spell · cold · wind

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. spell — letters
  4. mug — to rob
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wind — moving air
  7. suit — clothes
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cold — not warm
  10. club — for golf
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mug — a cup
  15. suit — in cards
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. club — for dancing
  18. suit — to fit
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mug — a face
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spell — magic
  23. club — a group
  24. spell — a short time

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