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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bat — the animal
  4. band — a music group
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. band — a ring
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. mark — a grade
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mark — a trace
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. squash — the sport
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. squash — the vegetable

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