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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. roll — a cake
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. cell — a phone
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cell — in biology
  7. prune — to trim
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pop — to visit
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. squash — the sport
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. pop — music
  18. snap — to click
  19. prune — to trim
  20. deal — to handle
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. pop — soda
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. squash — to crush

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