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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. perch — the fish
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. hand — in cards
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pass — a permit
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. hand — help
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. deal — to handle
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. rash — a series
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rash — hasty
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cold — an illness
  24. squash — the sport

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