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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. drill — the tool
  3. pit — a hole
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — in golf
  6. spell — magic
  7. squash — the sport
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. swing — music
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. spell — a short time
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pit — in a race
  20. game — a match
  21. spell — letters
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. hand — help
  24. fan — to cool the air

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