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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. spell — a short time
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rest — a break
  5. spell — magic
  6. club — for dancing
  7. rule — a law
  8. game — a match
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. rush — hurry
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wake — a trail
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. game — wild animals
  17. spell — letters
  18. club — for golf
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. squash — to crush
  21. rule — government
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. club — a group

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