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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. key — in music
  3. spell — magic
  4. court — of law
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. key — for a lock
  7. squash — the sport
  8. court — for sport
  9. key — the most important part
  10. squash — to crush
  11. swing — to play on
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. swing — music
  15. court — of a king
  16. spell — a short time
  17. content — happy
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. spell — letters
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. swing — in golf
  22. content — the amount
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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