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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cold — an illness
  7. squash — to crush
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rash — a series
  10. kid — child
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. row — to paddle
  16. kid — to tease
  17. ball — a great time
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. cold — not warm
  20. lean — to bend
  21. rash — hasty
  22. lean — thin
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. lean — to rest against

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