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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 116 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 ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. squash — to crush
  4. content — the amount
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. field — a subject
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. face — to confront
  9. rash — hasty
  10. row — a line
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. field — for sport
  13. rash — a series
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. field — farmland
  16. face — to point toward
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. row — to paddle
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. face — part of the head
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. deal — to handle

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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