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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. swing — music
  5. squash — to crush
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pound — a weight
  10. net — after costs
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. net — in sport
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — the sport
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bat — the animal
  17. date — the fruit
  18. deal — to handle
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. net — for catching
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. swing — to play on

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