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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. mug — a face
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. ground — crushed
  6. scale — size or range
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. roll — a list
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — in music
  14. ground — a position
  15. mug — a cup
  16. ground — the earth
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. kid — to tease
  19. roll — a cake
  20. mate — to breed
  21. squash — the sport
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mate — a partner
  24. kid — child

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