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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 120 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. swing — music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. present — a gift
  5. fall — to drop
  6. foot — a measure
  7. chest — of your body
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. present — there
  13. squash — to crush
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. fall — the season
  17. chest — of your body
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. swing — to play on
  20. present — the time now
  21. bear — the animal
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. swing — in golf
  24. chest — a box

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