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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. game — wild animals
  5. fall — to drop
  6. perch — the fish
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. fall — the season
  13. game — a match
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bulb — for light
  20. fall — to drop
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bulb — for light
  23. plane — a tool
  24. squash — to crush

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