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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. bound — certain
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. tube — a container
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bound — obliged
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cold — not warm
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ball — a dance
  23. squash — the sport
  24. lash — an eyelash

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