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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. spring — the season
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. staff — a stick
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. spring — a coil
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. tear — to rip
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. staff — employees
  14. tear — from crying
  15. squash — to crush
  16. track — a song
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. tear — from crying
  19. chair — a leader
  20. ball — a great time
  21. spring — of water
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. ball — a dance
  24. staff — employees

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