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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. cold — an illness
  4. suit — to fit
  5. suit — in cards
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bank — for money
  8. cold — not warm
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. kid — child
  11. bank — for money
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. squash — the sport
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. squash — to crush
  16. court — for sport
  17. suit — clothes
  18. bank — of a river
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. plane — a tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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