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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. spell — magic
  3. rush — hurry
  4. kid — child
  5. ball — a dance
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. spring — the season
  9. spell — letters
  10. kid — to tease
  11. spring — a coil
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. board — a committee
  14. ball — a great time
  15. spring — of water
  16. board — to get on
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. row — a line
  19. spell — a short time
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. squash — to crush
  23. row — to paddle
  24. squash — the sport

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