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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. hand — help
  5. squash — to crush
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. game — wild animals
  15. saw — the tool
  16. hand — in cards
  17. squash — the sport
  18. game — a match

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