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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 116 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. squash — to crush
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. squash — the sport
  5. object — a thing
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. rush — hurry
  8. hand — help
  9. kick — in football
  10. perch — the fish
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. object — to protest
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain
  19. object — an aim
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mine — for digging
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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