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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. ball — a dance
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. ball — a great time
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. root — of a plant
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. root — the cause
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — help
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. fork — in a road
  21. root — of a word
  22. sharp — clever
  23. wake — a trail
  24. rush — hurry

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