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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. cap — of ice
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. rush — hurry
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. squash — to crush
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. shower — rain
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — low music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bass — the fish
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. cell — in biology
  19. tear — to rip
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cap — a lid
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. tear — from crying
  24. shower — to wash

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