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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 116 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. rush — hurry
  4. court — of law
  5. tube — the underground
  6. court — for sport
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. race — a contest
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. court — of a king
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wind — moving air
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — humankind
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pop — soda
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. pop — music

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