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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. file — a tool
  6. rash — a series
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. rash — hasty
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. file — a document
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. file — a line of people
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. race — the arms race
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. squash — to crush
  24. bowl — a dish

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