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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. squash — the sport
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. drill — the tool
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. drill — army training
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rule — government
  13. spell — a short time
  14. kid — to tease
  15. spell — magic
  16. kid — child
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. squash — to crush
  19. drill — a practice
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. spell — letters
  24. game — a match

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