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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. pit — in a race
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pit — a hole
  24. straw — dry grass

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