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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. stock — goods
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — a tin
  8. object — a thing
  9. wound — an injury
  10. squash — to crush
  11. kid — child
  12. wound — an injury
  13. field — for sport
  14. object — an aim
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. kid — to tease
  20. can — to be able to
  21. field — a subject
  22. stock — shares
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. object — to protest

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