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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. staff — employees
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. chip — to eat
  7. shower — to wash
  8. kid — to tease
  9. squash — to crush
  10. kid — child
  11. perch — the fish
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. staff — a stick
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. chip — for betting
  19. shower — rain
  20. race — the arms race
  21. staff — employees
  22. race — a contest
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. race — humankind

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