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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mine — for digging
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. charge — in control
  9. spell — letters
  10. pop — soda
  11. charge — a price
  12. squash — to crush
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pop — music
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pop — to visit
  18. charge — electricity
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. mark — a trace
  21. spell — magic
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. fan — a supporter

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