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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wind — moving air
  4. land — to come down
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. row — a line
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. cell — a phone
  9. land — a country
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mug — a cup
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a face
  18. squash — to crush
  19. land — ground
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. row — a quarrel

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