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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. sharp — clever
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. court — of law
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. wound — an injury
  15. field — farmland
  16. deal — to handle
  17. squash — the sport
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. court — of a king
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. court — for sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cap — a hat

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