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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.

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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. squash — to crush
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — for catching
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. shower — rain
  10. net — in sport
  11. board — to get on
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. shower — to wash
  15. squash — the sport
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. board — a committee
  18. ruler — for measuring

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