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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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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. spell — a short time
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. spell — letters
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cold — not warm
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — of ice
  10. squash — to crush
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cap — a lid
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. spell — magic
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. stand — on your feet

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