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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cell — a phone
  4. club — a group
  5. squash — the sport
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. club — for dancing
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. staff — employees
  10. squash — to crush
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. cell — in biology
  13. row — to paddle
  14. staff — a stick
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. club — for golf
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. row — a line
  21. staff — employees
  22. mine — for digging
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. plane — a tool

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