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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. game — wild animals
  4. ball — a dance
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. ball — a great time
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. board — to get on
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. swing — music
  11. board — a committee
  12. march — music
  13. game — a match
  14. swing — to play on
  15. squash — the sport
  16. march — the month
  17. rash — a series
  18. squash — to crush
  19. march — the month
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. swing — in golf
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. rash — hasty
  24. dip — to sink

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