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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. ball — a great time
  3. squash — to crush
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. rash — hasty
  7. ball — a dance
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. charge — a price
  10. kid — child
  11. lean — thin
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. spring — a coil
  14. squash — the sport
  15. kid — to tease
  16. spring — of water
  17. rash — a series
  18. spring — the season
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. charge — electricity
  22. plane — a tool
  23. lean — to bend
  24. charge — in control

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