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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 124 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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 — the sport
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. land — to come down
  6. hand — help
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. rule — a law
  9. land — ground
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wake — a trail
  12. squash — to crush
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rule — government
  17. land — a country
  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