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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bear — the animal
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. current — happening now
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. hand — help
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — of the year
  15. lean — thin
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. season — in sport
  21. lean — to bend
  22. bat — the animal
  23. current — electric
  24. current — of water

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