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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 116 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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. pitch — completely
  3. tube — the underground
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. swing — to play on
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. lie — to recline
  9. kid — to tease
  10. tube — a container
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. game — wild animals
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. swing — music
  17. kid — child
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. swing — in golf
  20. file — a tool
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. squash — the sport
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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