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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. prune — to trim
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — the sport
  5. race — the arms race
  6. content — happy
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. ball — a great time
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. race — a contest
  15. scale — size or range
  16. ball — a dance
  17. race — humankind
  18. content — the amount
  19. prune — to trim
  20. scale — in music
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. squash — to crush
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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