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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. squash — the sport
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. spell — letters
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a partner
  8. squash — to crush
  9. spell — magic
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. mate — a friend
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — a weight
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. file — a line of people
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. spell — a short time
  21. file — a tool
  22. rash — a series
  23. file — a document
  24. rash — on the skin

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