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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. net — for catching
  3. cap — of ice
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cap — a lid
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. march — the month
  8. squash — the sport
  9. lie — to recline
  10. rash — a series
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. net — in sport
  17. cap — a hat
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. squash — to crush
  21. march — music
  22. net — after costs
  23. march — the month
  24. rash — hasty

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