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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rash — a series
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. court — of a king
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. file — a tool
  9. shower — rain
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. file — a line of people
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. squash — to crush
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. file — a document
  17. bat — the animal
  18. court — of law
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. shower — to wash
  22. pass — a permit
  23. rash — hasty
  24. squash — the sport

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