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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. track — a path
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cap — a lid
  8. rash — hasty
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. game — wild animals
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. game — a match
  13. bat — the animal
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. rash — a series
  19. track — to keep track
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cap — of ice
  23. date — the fruit
  24. track — a song

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