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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 120 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cold — an illness
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bass — the fish
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. squash — the sport
  8. kick — in football
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bass — low music
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. kid — child
  16. rule — a law
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. net — for catching
  23. rule — government
  24. kick — a thrill

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