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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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. content — the amount
  5. board — to get on
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. content — happy
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. squash — to crush
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. board — a committee
  18. rash — hasty
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rash — a series
  21. capital — money
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. capital — a city
  24. rash — on the skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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