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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. squash — to crush
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. land — to come down
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. kid — to tease
  12. wound — an injury
  13. land — a country
  14. kid — child
  15. hand — help
  16. chest — a box
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wound — an injury
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. land — ground
  24. bowl — a dish

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