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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. rash — hasty
  4. tear — to rip
  5. rash — a series
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. current — electric
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — completely
  12. current — of water
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. current — happening now
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. net — for catching
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. net — after costs
  21. tear — from crying
  22. squash — the sport
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. squash — to crush

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