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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. stem — to come from
  5. tube — a container
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. kick — in football
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. ball — a dance
  15. fine — all right
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. cold — not warm
  18. tube — the underground
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. fine — high quality
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. ball — a great time

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