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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. court — for sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bound — certain
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. court — of a king
  11. bound — tied together
  12. squash — the sport
  13. lean — thin
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. march — the month
  16. bound — obliged
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pitch — completely
  22. chair — a leader
  23. court — of law
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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