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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. squash — the sport
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. degree — from a university
  5. kick — in football
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. wake — a trail
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. row — a line
  14. chip — for betting
  15. degree — temperature
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. rash — hasty
  18. pass — a permit
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. chip — to eat
  22. squash — to crush
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rash — a series

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