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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 124 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. pass — a permit
  3. squash — the sport
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. band — a music group
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cold — not warm
  12. net — in sport
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. bear — the animal
  16. net — for catching
  17. rash — hasty
  18. band — a ring
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. net — after costs
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. rash — a series
  24. cold — an illness

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