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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. mate — to breed
  3. squash — the sport
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. prune — to trim
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bat — the animal
  16. court — of a king
  17. mate — a partner
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. mug — a face
  21. mate — a friend
  22. mug — a cup
  23. kick — in football
  24. mug — to rob

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