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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. chest — of your body
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. court — for sport
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. court — of law
  12. spring — the season
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. spring — of water
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. sharp — clever
  20. court — of a king
  21. spring — a coil
  22. squash — to crush
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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