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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. squash — the sport
  3. band — a music group
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. wind — moving air
  8. squash — to crush
  9. court — of a king
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. kid — to tease
  12. ground — crushed
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. court — for sport
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. court — of law
  17. band — a ring
  18. ground — a position
  19. suit — in cards
  20. ground — the earth
  21. perch — the fish
  22. wind — moving air
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. suit — clothes

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