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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rash — a series
  6. squash — to crush
  7. content — the amount
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rush — hurry
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. content — happy
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. rash — hasty
  18. tear — to rip

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