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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — to go on
  4. band — a ring
  5. last — finally
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. squash — to crush
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. spring — of water
  13. band — a music group
  14. foot — a measure
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. last — final
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. spring — the season

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