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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rule — a law
  3. spell — a short time
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. squash — the sport
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. sharp — clever
  11. spell — magic
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. rule — government
  14. swing — music
  15. spell — letters
  16. swing — to play on
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. tube — a container
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. swing — in golf

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