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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. rest — what's left
  3. ball — a great time
  4. rest — a break
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. spell — magic
  8. squash — the sport
  9. game — a match
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. game — wild animals
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. squash — to crush
  17. ball — a dance
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. rest — what's left
  20. spell — a short time
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. spell — letters
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. nail — for a hammer

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