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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pop — to visit
  4. squash — to crush
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wound — an injury
  9. foot — a measure
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. spring — of water
  13. pop — soda
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. sharp — clever
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spring — the season
  20. pop — music
  21. spring — a coil
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. squash — the sport
  24. shower — rain

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