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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.

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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. chip — to eat
  5. mug — to rob
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. shower — rain
  11. fall — to drop
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. fall — the season
  14. mug — a cup
  15. kid — child
  16. squash — to crush
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. mug — a face
  21. fall — to drop
  22. shower — to wash
  23. chip — for betting
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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