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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 124 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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. roll — a cake
  4. can — a tin
  5. squash — to crush
  6. chair — a leader
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. can — to be able to
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bass — low music
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. can — a tin

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