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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. track — a song
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. lean — thin
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. track — to keep track
  16. shower — rain
  17. track — a path
  18. lean — to bend
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cold — not warm
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — in football

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