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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. date — the fruit
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pop — music
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rash — a series
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. race — a contest
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. race — the arms race
  14. squash — the sport
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. plane — a tool
  18. rush — hurry
  19. perch — the fish
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. squash — to crush
  22. pop — soda
  23. race — humankind
  24. pop — to visit

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