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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — music
  4. squash — the sport
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. band — a music group
  7. present — the time now
  8. court — of law
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. court — of a king
  11. squash — to crush
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. court — for sport
  14. present — there
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. scale — size or range
  22. present — a gift
  23. band — a ring
  24. swing — in golf

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