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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. spell — letters
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rule — government
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. spell — magic
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. spell — a short time
  12. rule — a law
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — a series
  17. squash — the sport
  18. branch — a division
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. squash — to crush
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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