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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. last — to go on
  3. drill — a practice
  4. kid — child
  5. object — a thing
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. net — in sport
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. drill — army training
  11. object — an aim
  12. drill — the tool
  13. game — a match
  14. net — for catching
  15. object — to protest
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. last — final
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bound — tied together
  20. game — wild animals
  21. squash — to crush
  22. last — finally
  23. kid — to tease
  24. net — after costs

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