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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. net — in sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. net — for catching
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. face — part of the head
  7. kick — in football
  8. can — a tin
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cold — an illness
  11. face — to confront
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. squash — the sport
  14. root — of a word
  15. face — to point toward
  16. can — a tin
  17. root — of a plant
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. can — to be able to
  21. root — the cause
  22. bat — the animal
  23. cold — not warm
  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