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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. squash — the sport
  5. dip — to sink
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — for sport
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. squash — to crush
  10. band — a ring
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. chip — for betting
  13. band — a music group
  14. chip — to eat
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. court — of law
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. rule — a law
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. band — a rubber band

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