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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. roll — a list
  4. squash — to crush
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. tear — from crying
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. roll — a cake
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. tear — from crying
  19. scale — size or range
  20. foot — a measure
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. scale — in music
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. tear — to rip

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