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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. squash — to crush
  4. court — of law
  5. spell — letters
  6. shower — to wash
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. spell — a short time
  13. scale — size or range
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. ball — a great time
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. shower — rain
  19. squash — the sport
  20. scale — in music
  21. ball — a dance
  22. fork — in a road
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. spell — magic

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