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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. roll — a cake
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. chest — of your body
  6. roll — a list
  7. mug — a cup
  8. chest — of your body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. mug — to rob
  14. chest — a box
  15. squash — to crush
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mug — a face
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bear — the animal
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. bear — the animal

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