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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. swing — in golf
  6. snap — to click
  7. cold — not warm
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. shower — rain
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. season — in sport
  12. squash — the sport
  13. swing — music
  14. shower — to wash
  15. court — for sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. season — of the year
  18. swing — to play on
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. squash — to crush
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. court — of a king

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