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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. club — for golf
  3. court — of law
  4. last — final
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. club — for dancing
  7. last — finally
  8. court — for sport
  9. club — a group
  10. cap — of ice
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. spell — letters
  14. last — to go on
  15. spell — magic
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. kick — in football
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. court — of a king
  21. spell — a short time
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — a lid

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