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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kid — child
  6. shower — rain
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. shower — to wash
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ball — a dance
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. degree — temperature
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. degree — an amount
  16. squash — the sport
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. degree — from a university
  22. squash — to crush
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. kid — to tease

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