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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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Word bank
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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 water is too ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pop — to visit
  3. kick — in football
  4. board — to get on
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pop — music
  7. board — a committee
  8. mate — a friend
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — letters
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. mate — to breed
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mate — a partner
  15. pop — soda
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. squash — to crush
  22. spell — a short time
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. patient — a sick person

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