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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. rule — a law
  4. tear — from crying
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. rule — government
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. court — of a king
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. tear — from crying
  13. court — of law
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. court — for sport
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bat — the animal
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — the vegetable

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