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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. march — the month
  5. tube — the underground
  6. squash — the sport
  7. march — music
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. tube — a container
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. stand — to bear
  15. plane — a tool
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. kid — to tease
  22. march — the month
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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