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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. net — after costs
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pound — a weight
  6. lean — to bend
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. lean — thin
  12. net — for catching
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — rain
  17. net — in sport
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. lean — to rest against

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