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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. dip — to sink
  3. land — to come down
  4. net — for catching
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bound — certain
  9. squash — the sport
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. bound — tied together
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bound — obliged
  17. wind — moving air
  18. plane — a tool
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. net — in sport
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rush — hurry
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. net — after costs

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