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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 116 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. kid — child
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. club — a group
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. club — for dancing
  9. shower — rain
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. kid — to tease
  13. squash — to crush
  14. tear — to rip
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. shower — to wash
  18. tear — from crying
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. club — for golf
  21. tear — from crying
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. spell — magic
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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