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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. hand — help
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — a measure
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. hand — in cards
  14. mine — for digging
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. ball — a great 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